OMB Director Questions Powell Over Fed HQ Renovation Spending

The $2.5 billion construction of the central bank’s headquarters has already overrun its budget by $700 million.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington on June 25, 2025. Kent Nishimura/Getty Images

Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought has criticized Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell in a letter dated July 10 and said he is concerned about the renovation cost for the central bank’s headquarters in Washington.

Vought said plans for the building may have violated government building rules and warned that the construction could be halted immediately.