‘America can afford anything': Trump says after clash with Fed Chair Powell over cost overruns in HQ renovations
Trump was continuing his campaign to pressure the Fed to cut interest rates and was visiting its Washington headquarters to view costly renovations he has suggested are tantamount to fraud.
Having branded Powell a 'numbskull' for the Fed's recent decisions not to cut rates, Trump has turned up the pressure on Powell with criticism of the $2.5bn bill for renovating the Fed's historical buildings.
Powell and Trump stood in hard hats inside the Fed's construction site. Urging the Fed chair to stand closer to him, Trump alleged that the bill for the renovations would now cost $3.1bn.
'It looks like it's about $3.1bn – it went up a little bit or a lot,' said Trump. The usually unflappable Powell looked visibly irritated, closed his eyes and shook his head. 'I am not aware of that,' said Powell.
Handed a piece of paper by Trump, Powell scanned it and said the new figure included the cost of renovations for the Martin Building, a different Fed office that was renovated five years ago. 'It's not new,' said Powell.
What Trump wrote on Truth Social:
It was a Great Honor to tour the Renovation (and some new Construction!) of the Federal Reserve Building with Chairman Jerome Powell, Senator Tim Scott, and others. It's got a long way to go, would have been much better if it were never started, but it is what it is and, hopefully, it will be finished ASAP. The cost overruns are substantial but, on the positive side, our Country is doing very well and can afford just about anything — Even the cost of this building! I'll be watching and, hopefully, adding some expertise. As everyone knows, I renovated the Old Post Office on Pennsylvania Avenue, and it was a roaring SUCCESS. The total Construction cost was a small fraction of the Fed Building's cost, and it is many times the size. With all of that being said, let's just get it finished and, even more importantly, LOWER INTEREST RATES!
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