Former President Donald Trump has publicly criticized Jerome Powell, the current Chairman of the Federal Reserve, over the rising costs associated with ongoing renovations of the Federal Reserve Board building in Washington, D.C. In 2017, with Democrats otherwise preoccupied, Trump nominated Powell for the job. Most recently, he referred to him as “Jerome ‘Too Late’ Powell,” and suggested taking “urgent action” to cut interest rates.
Trump’s comments come as inflation has driven renovation costs through the roof. What initially was a $50 million rough estimation has ballooned to an astounding $3 billion. The former president called the mess “very bad,” noting that he could not even imagine the magnitude of the fiscal jump. The public financing was overstated, he argues, and the mismanaged renovations, as he described them, have cost the state economically.
In a statement, Trump stated, “Three Billion Dollars for a job that should have been a $50 Million Dollar fix up. Not good!” He doubled down on his assertion that Powell’s lagging actions have already done serious and lasting damage to the economy, calling it “incalculable.”
In addition to millions spent on years of renovations. There Trump and Powell took a joint tour of the Federal Reserve Board building on July 24, 2025. On that visit, Trump continued to push the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates right away.
“Jerome ‘Too Late’ Powell must NOW lower the rate.” – Donald Trump
It’s precisely this kind of independent monetary management that has greatly displeased Trump, prompting him to threaten to sue Powell. He stated, “I am, though, considering allowing a major lawsuit against Powell to proceed because of the horrible, and grossly incompetent, job he has done in managing the construction of the Fed Buildings.” This would-be lawsuit is an outburst of Trump’s continuing ire over Powell’s calm management of the Federal Reserve.
Besides directly criticizing Powell, Trump has tried to pass some buck on to his first-term Treasury Secretary, Steven Mnuchin. He blamed Mnuchin for pressuring him to nominate Powell in the first place. This was another layer of complication to his already fraught relationship with the chair of the Federal Reserve.
If you listen to Trump, the economy is booming. More than his aggressive pressure on Powell, we should be concerned by Trump’s larger agenda to sabotage monetary policy and its long-run effects on future growth. With several vacancies at the Fed needing to be filled, Trump’s comments could indicate potential changes in leadership or policy directions within the central bank.