Trump Meets With Jerome Powell
Well, if Jerome Powell thought he was going to quietly walk President Trump through the Federal Reserve’s multi-billion-dollar renovation project with a few polite handshakes and some hardhat photo ops, he learned otherwise real quick.
Trump rolled up to the Fed’s Washington, D.C., headquarters on Thursday — hardhat on, boots planted, and ready for battle — and turned what could’ve been a simple tour into a public grilling. And right out of the gate, the tension was thick enough to cut with a trowel.
.@POTUS has arrived at the Federal Reserve pic.twitter.com/bkyMQs1dmg
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) July 24, 2025
For weeks, Trump’s been hammering Powell to either slash interest rates or pack up and leave. So when he got the chance to confront the Fed chair in person, he took it — and he came with receipts. Literally.
As cameras rolled, Trump zeroed in on the jaw-dropping costs of the Fed’s renovation project, which he said had ballooned from $2.5 billion to $3.1 billion. Powell tried to play defense, shaking his head and saying he wasn’t “aware” the numbers had climbed that high. But Trump, who practically invented the “don’t tell me the cost, I already know the cost” school of construction management, wasn’t buying it. He handed Powell documents apparently showing the updated totals — from the Fed’s own data, no less — and dismissed Powell’s attempt to exclude past construction from the sum.
.@POTUS to Fed Chair Jerome Powell on the exorbitant cost overruns of their palace-like HQ renovation: "It looks like it's about $3.1 billion. It went up a little bit — or a lot." pic.twitter.com/5Hv8EUPm0m
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) July 24, 2025
The exchange quickly turned into a master class in Trumpian confrontation. Powell stammered about reserves and overruns, while Trump asked the obvious question: Are there more cost overruns coming? Powell promised no, but his answer didn’t exactly inspire confidence.
And then came the zinger. When a reporter asked how Trump would deal with a project manager who blew through the budget on one of his own properties, the president didn’t hesitate: “I’d fire him!” You could almost hear the record scratch as Powell shifted uncomfortably next to him.
REPORTER: As a real estate developer, what would you do with the project manager who would be over budget?@POTUS: "Generally speaking, what would I do? I'd FIRE HIM!" pic.twitter.com/Pn1amYIF0q
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) July 24, 2025
Trump wasn’t done. He slammed the project’s glacial pace — expected to drag on until 2027 — and even questioned whether it should’ve been started in the first place. Ouch.
Accompanied by Sens. Tim Scott and Thom Tillis, Trump made it clear this wasn’t just a casual visit. It was a message: He’s watching the Fed, he’s unhappy with its decisions, and Jerome Powell is on notice.