Powell pressure campaign ramps up

President Donald Trump is set to tour the Federal Reserve headquarters in Washington on Thursday afternoon to highlight what his administration says are budget-busting building renovations, the latest chapter in Trump’s campaign against Chairman Jerome Powell.

The visit as a tool of political pressure has no precedent in modern American politics. It is scheduled to take place at 4 p.m. ET, the White House said.

Trump, in a Truth Social post announcing his departure, said Powell will be “present,” along with numerous administration officials and two Republican senators.

“Getting ready to head over to the Fed to look at their, now, $3.1 Billion Dollar (PLUS!) construction project,” Trump wrote in the post.

“Also present will be Fed Chair Jerome Powell, Senator Tim Scott, Senator Thom Tillis, OMB Director Russ Vought, Chairman of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Bill Pulte, my Appointees to the National Capital Planning Commission, James Blair and Will Scharf, and various other construction professionals,” he wrote.

Pulte, who heads the Federal Housing Finance Agency, is one of Powell’s harshest critics and has been one of the Trump administration’s most vocal advocates calling for him to be replaced.

“Jerome Powell must resign,” Pulte wrote on X earlier Thursday.

Trump is demanding that Powell immediately lower the benchmark interest rate, while berating him with accusations of incompetence and political bias — even though it was Trump who originally nominated Powell for the role in 2017.

Powell has kept rates steady so far this year, infuriating Trump, who claims that slashing rates will save the U.S. hundreds of billions of dollars in interest costs. Interest payments on U.S. debt topped $1.1 trillion in 2024.

Trump had previously signaled he was considering firing Powell, whose term is set to expire next May. He has recently backed off those threats, however.

It is unclear whether the president has the authority to fire a Fed chairman. The Supreme Court recently indicated in a ruling that the central bank’s independence is protected by legal precedent.

But Trump and his administration have kept up the pressure, most recently by targeting cost overruns related to a yearslong, multibillion-dollar renovation of two historic Fed buildings in Washington, D.C.

Vought earlier this month alleged that Powell “has grossly mismanaged the Fed” as he questioned the “ostentatious” construction project.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who is seen as a possible contender to replace Powell, said Monday on CNBC that the Fed under Powell requires a comprehensive review.

It’s rare for a sitting president to show up at the Fed: Trump’s is only the fourth such visit since 1937, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated the building.

And no prior appearance took place as the president was openly urging changes in monetary policy or threatening to investigate the Fed chair’s conduct.

The visit is also taking place as Trump seeks to divert attention from a growing controversy over his administration’s handling of yet-undisclosed files related to deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

This is developing news. Please check back for updates.