The facts
An inspector general review of the Federal Reserve’s headquarters renovation found no sign that then-Chair Jerome Powell broke the law or committed misconduct in his management of the costly project, even as it sharply criticized him and the central bank’s board for allowing the price tag to balloon beyond $2 billion. “We did not find reasonable grounds to believe that a violation of federal criminal law had occurred and did not identify violations of Board policy warranting an administrative misconduct finding,” the Fed’s inspector general wrote in the 120-page report. The Fed is now budgeting roughly $2.4 billion for the project, nearly double the initial estimates from 2020.
President Donald Trump signaled that he was undeterred by the findings, instead renewing his calls for Powell to step down and raising the threat of another federal investigation if he refuses to quit. “If he doesn’t resign, he should be sued, at the highest level, by the United States Government, for either corruption or incompetence, both of which are completely unacceptable,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. The president added that he had asked Attorney General Todd Blanche to review the report and determine “what to do” about the Fed headquarters.
The report did fault the Fed’s board for mismanaging the project, concluding that it “could have better controlled costs and mitigated some of the significant construction cost increases.” The board failed to set price caps, did not monitor day-to-day developments closely enough, and at one point decided against seeking more competitive bids in order to “keep the project moving.” The water fountains and marble restoration that Trump and congressional Republicans had highlighted as evidence of Fed largess did not drive the overruns: “We did not find that these design features materially contributed to the substantial construction cost increases.”
Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh, who took over the top post in May, concurred with the review’s findings and committed to an independent audit of the project’s contractor. Trump had personally visited the Fed headquarters last spring to inspect the renovations, during which Powell fact-checked Trump’s cost estimates in real time before the cameras. The Justice Department briefly opened a criminal probe into Powell before suspending it amid backlash from Republican lawmakers; US Attorney Jeanine Pirro dropped the investigation in April but said her office would review the inspector general report and that the probe could be restarted.
Powell stepped down as Fed chair in May when his term expired but took the rare step of remaining on the central bank’s board of governors, citing “the series of legal attacks on the Fed which threaten our ability to conduct monetary policy without considering political factors.” He told reporters the events of recent months had “left me no choice but to stay until I see them through.”
Meanwhile, Trump is overseeing his own construction project: a White House ballroom that has already far exceeded its initial $200 million estimate, with the administration offering little clarity on how it’s covering those additional costs. In his social media post, Trump wrote that Powell and the Fed had “completely destroyed the Beauty and Glorious History of the Building.” He added: “And no, I do not want this Building named after President Donald J. Trump, ME!” White House spokesman Kush Desai said the report “reinforces the gross mismanagement that President Trump has repeatedly highlighted by the Federal Reserve’s prior leadership.”
Our take
Let’s get this straight, you hypocritical asshole. A 120-page investigation by the government’s own watchdog concludes that Jerome Powell broke no laws and committed no misconduct. The report’s actual crime was being too fucking boring, detailing how the Fed board failed to set price caps and didn't monitor the project closely - the kind of bureaucratic negligence that makes accountants sigh, not prosecutors salivate. Trump’s immediate, drooling response on Truth Social was to demand Powell’s resignation and threaten to have the U.S. government sue him for 'corruption or incompetence.' The report just said it found neither, you stupid prick. In Trump’s world, a clean bill of health is just a pretext to scream 'GUILTY' louder. He’s the guy who calls the fire department to report the absence of a fire, then tries to have the homeowner arrested for arson.
This from the fucking clown whose own vanity project - a White House ballroom - is already a financial black hole, sailing past its initial $200 million estimate with his administration offering 'little clarity' on the overruns. Who the fuck is paying for that? The man wants Powell drawn and quartered for a $2.4 billion renovation of an entire central bank headquarters, while his own dick-swinging party room can’t stay within a budget that’s one-twelfth the size. If cost overruns are an impeachable offense for a Fed chair, then Trump’s ballroom alone qualifies him for a fucking firing squad. The sheer, balls-out audacity to posture as a fiscal hawk while your own gold-plated shitter hemorrhages cash is a special kind of stupid.
And let’s not skip the pathetic, mewling vanity of his post: 'And no, I do not want this Building named after President Donald J. Trump, ME!' Oh, fuck off. The man who slaps his name on steaks, universities, and hotels is now magnanimously declining an honor nobody fucking offered, typing his own name in all caps like a toddler who just learned to spell 'ME.' It’s a performance of humility so transparently fake it makes a used-car salesman look sincere. The real joke is that his entire crusade backfired like a cheap cannon. Powell cited Trump’s 'series of legal attacks' as the reason he fucking stayed on the board after his term ended. Trump tried to bully him out and instead gave the guy a martyr complex and a job for life. You couldn’t manage to oust a guy your own investigation cleared, you incompetent bastard. The only thing you’ve built is a monument to your own failure, and it’s costing $200 million and counting.
