Overview
- Trump’s July 24 visit to the Fed’s Washington headquarters marked only the fourth time a sitting president has toured the central bank’s facilities
- During a hard-hat tour, Trump challenged Chair Jerome Powell’s cost overruns, insisting the renovation budget had swelled to roughly $3.1 billion, above the Fed’s $2.5 billion figure
- Despite past threats to fire Powell, the president said he will not dismiss him before his term expires in May even as aides explore legal grounds for removal
- White House officials led by OMB Director Russell Vought and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent have publicly demanded internal reviews of the Fed’s non-monetary expenditures
- The Fed, citing security upgrades and tariff-driven inflation risks, remains on track to hold its benchmark rate at about 4.3 percent at its July 30 policy meeting