Powell requests IG review of costly Fed headquarters $2.5B project

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell asked the Inspector General of the Central Bank to review the renewal of his historic headquarters in Washington, which was seized by Trump officials as a new way to criticize the Federal Reserves amid a batch to compel Powell’s resignation.

During the weekend, Powell was said to have asked the Inspector General of Federal Reserve, Michael Horwitz, the project-who was suffering from an escalation of cost compared to the cost estimate before the renewal. The news was first reported by Axios, while Reuters was martyred with a source familiar with the request in a later report.

Powell’s request follows a letter he received from the Director of the Administration and Budget Office (OMB), last week, who criticized the price of the project of $ 2.5 billion, which rose from about $ 1.9 billion before the epidemic.

Feon wrote that President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly called Powell to reduce interest rates and threatened to try to shoot him, is “very troubled” through the renewal project. Trump’s other allies, including FHFA Bill Bolt, suggested that he justify the costs of costs in the Powell project “for a reason” because federal law prohibits the president’s termination for other reasons.

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Powell said several times that he intends to spend the remaining period of his mandate as a president and that the central bank depends on economic data, not political considerations, to take monetary policy decisions.

The Federal Reserve posted the common questions about the renovations of the Mariner S Building. Icel and the building of Al -Dustour Street in 1951, which explained that the project is to preserve two historical buildings that have not been promoted since their construction in the thirties of the twentieth century.

Renewals include asbestos and lead pollution; Replace old electricity, plumbing, HVAC, fire detection and repression; And changes to compliance with safety and construction symbols.

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The renewal of the FBI, including the Marriner S. Eccles Federal Reserve building, has been renewed. (Ting Shen / Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)

The Federal Reserve wrote that a variety of factors led to an increase in costs, including “changes in original buildings designs as a result of consulting with audit agencies; differences over time between original estimates and actual costs of materials, equipment and employment; unexpected conditions (for example, more than expected asbestos, toxic pollution in the soil, and the higher water space.)”).

In addition, the Federal Reserve Document dealt with some of the claims that were presented in its letter. And note that there is no new VIP dining room or a VIP elevator, although the original elevators are rehabilitated with one that can be more accessible to people with disabilities.

While the initial designs included new water features on Al -Dustour Street, they were canceled, and the original fountains are restored only in the Eccles building.

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Powell faced pressure from the Trump administration to reduce interest rates, which have doubled due to the criticism of the renewal project. (Craig Hudson / Reuters / Reuters)

The document also indicated that the “garden balcony” in the application for the year 2021 to the National Capital Planning Committee was the ceiling of the underground parking structure that lies under the front park of the Al -Dustour Street.

Other “vegetable surfaces” are used or green surfaces to manage storm water flowing and improving construction efficiency, including in other federal government buildings while encouraging public services management.

The Federal Reserve indicated that it has expanded the scope of some features on buildings, including spaces on the surface and new water features, with the progress of the project. It also canceled a separate planned renewal of the New York Street building in 2024 due to the highest construction costs of the expected.

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In addition, the Federal Reserve Bank notes that the board of governorates was responsible for supervising the project since its approval for the first time in 2017, and was supervised by the Office of the Inspector General (Oig) in the Board of Directors, which reviewed the project in 2021.

Reuters contributed to this report.