Trump and Powell bicker over cost of Fed building renovations as president visits site
Thank you very much. We're looking at the construction and we're with the chairman, as you know, come on over and we're just taking *** look at what's happening and it's *** tough construction job building basements where they didn't exist or expanding them, and *** lot of very expensive work. There's no question about it. And Tim has been with me for *** long time and you're in charge of the committee. Indeed one of the reasons why we wanted to see it was the overruns of the expenses wanted to figure out why. So we're taking *** look and it looks like it's about 3.1 billion. It went up *** little bit or *** lot, so the 2.7 is now 3.1, and it just came out. I haven't heard from anybody. And it just came out. Our notes that at about 3.1 as well. 1 3.2. This came from us? Yes, I don't know who does that. You're including the Martin renovation. You just you just you just added in *** third building is what that is. That's *** it's *** building that's being built. No, it's been, it was 5 years ago. We finished Martin 5 years ago part of the overall work so. So we're going to take *** look. We're going to see what's happening and it's got *** long way. Do you expect any more additional costs? Don't expect them. We're ready for them, but we have *** little bit of *** reserve that we may use, but no, we don't expect to be finished in 2027. We're well along as you can see. Uh nice to take these off every once in *** while when we're not under too much danger. Uh, so any questions as *** real estate developer, what would you do with *** project manager who would be over budget? Generally speaking, what would I do? I'd fire him. Well, I'm here just really with the chairman. He's showing us around, showing us the work, and so I don't want to get that. I don't want to be personal. I just would like to see it get finished. And in many ways it's too bad it started, but it did start and it's been under construction for *** long time. It's going to be *** real long time because it looks like it's got *** long way to go the chairman say to you today that would back off some of the, I'd love him to lower interest rates. Other than that, what can I tell you? The country is doing really well. I just briefed the chairman on the deal we made with Japan. Japan is putting up $550 billion in order to lower their tariffs *** little bit that way they have *** little bit lower tariff. And they also opened their country to free trade, which nobody thought was even *** possibility and We get *** zero tariff in the free trade. We don't pay tariffs, and they're going to pay 15% on everything they send into our country, so it's great, but they put up, as you could call it seed money, let's call it seed money. You can call it anything you want, but it's it's *** total of $550 billion so nobody thought any of that was possible, and it's wonderful, and we're doing pretty well with the European Union likewise. And we have some others. They're all really big and our country is going to make *** lot of money. We would be helped if interest rates would come down, but we're going to see how the board rules on that soon. I'd love to see them come down *** lot, but we have *** country that's thriving. We had *** dead country one year ago today. We have the hottest country anywhere in the world, and we'll get this one finished.
Trump and Powell bicker over cost of Fed building renovations as president visits site
Updated: 3:50 PM CDT Jul 24, 2025
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President Donald Trump publicly scorned Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Thursday for the cost of an extensive building renovation as the two officials began a tour of the unfinished project.Trump said the project cost $3.1 billion, much higher than the Fed's $2.5 billion figure, while Powell, standing next to him, silently shook his head.“This came from us?” Powell said, then figuring out that Trump was including the renovation of the Martin Building, which was finished five years ago.“Do you expect any more additional cost overruns?” Trump asked.“Don’t expect them,” Powell said.Trump said that in his career as a real estate developer, he would fire someone for cost overruns. The president joked that he would back off Powell if he lowered interest rates.
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump publicly scorned Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Thursday for the cost of an extensive building renovation as the two officials began a tour of the unfinished project.
Trump said the project cost $3.1 billion, much higher than the Fed's $2.5 billion figure, while Powell, standing next to him, silently shook his head.
“This came from us?” Powell said, then figuring out that Trump was including the renovation of the Martin Building, which was finished five years ago.
“Do you expect any more additional cost overruns?” Trump asked.
“Don’t expect them,” Powell said.
Trump said that in his career as a real estate developer, he would fire someone for cost overruns. The president joked that he would back off Powell if he lowered interest rates.