Overview

• President Trump acknowledged asking Republican lawmakers if he should fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and said most backed the idea.
• OMB Director Russell Vought has sought an on-site inspection of the Fed’s $2.5 billion headquarters overhaul to investigate alleged cost overruns.
• Jerome Powell defended the renovation costs by citing historic preservation requirements and inflation and asked the Fed’s inspector general to review the project.
• Federal law limits removal of a Fed chair to cases of proven fraud or malfeasance and the Supreme Court has not ruled that the president has authority to fire the chair.
• Markets fell on reports of a possible ouster but recovered after Trump called a firing “highly unlikely” without evidence of wrongdoing.