Trump Criticizes Powell as Fed Renovation Report Surfaces
Left 50%
Center 0%
Right 50%
1 left · 0 center · 1 right
What happened
The Wall Street Journal editorial board called for former Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to resign from the Board of Governors after Inspector General Michael Horowitz released an evaluation of the Fed’s headquarters renovation. Horowitz reported that the project, budgeted at $1.3 billion, now has a cost estimate of $2.4 billion and is on track to finish three years late; he described changing designs and poorly written contracts but said the evaluation “did not identify administrative misconduct.” Current Fed Chair Kevin Warsh transferred the renovation project to the General Services Administration. President Trump criticized Powell on the renovation and on interest-rate timing, calling him “too late” and saying “a man that’s incompetent should not be sitting on the Federal Reserve Board.”
Omitted — what each side leaves out
Unpacked
Left-leaning coverage never reports that anyone has asked Jerome Powell to resign. Bloomberg instead treats his remaining on the Board of Governors as useful ballast for Chair Kevin Warsh. Right-leaning coverage on Fox Business centers on a Wall Street Journal editorial and President Trump both urging Powell to step down after an inspector general review of the Fed headquarters project. A reader of only Bloomberg would not know a resignation campaign was underway.
The two sides do not describe the same person. Right-leaning coverage, via Fox Business, relays the president calling Powell "incompetent." Left-leaning coverage on Bloomberg calls that same continued presence a "tempering influence."
Has Powell responded to the calls to resign, and does Chair Warsh want him to stay?
Bottom line
Bloomberg never tells viewers that the Wall Street Journal asked Powell to resign after a Fed headquarters renovation now estimated at $2.4 billion.
The receipts — 3 facts one side's coverage lacks
- The current cost estimate for the Fed headquarters renovation is $2.4 billion
- The renovation is on track to be completed three years behind schedule
- Doug Rediker said Powell's continued presence on the Board of Governors is a tempering influence on Chair Kevin Warsh
The Left View
On Bloomberg, Doug Rediker, managing partner at International Capital Strategies and a former U.S. representative on the IMF Executive Board, said Powell’s continued presence on the Board of Governors is a “tempering influence” on Chair Kevin Warsh. Rediker did not join the resignation calls and treated Powell’s remaining on the board as a source of restraint on the new chair.
The Right View
Larry Kudlow of Fox Business wrote that “now is the time for Jay Powell to resign,” endorsing a Wall Street Journal editorial that said the inspector general’s finding of no misconduct “clears the path for Mr. Powell to resign in line with tradition and do his part to de-escalate the unhelpful political battles that have ensnared the Fed.” Kudlow quoted the Journal calling the renovation “a long and expensive comedy of errors” and writing, “Picture the faculty lounge trying to build a new football stadium,” and cited Trump calling Powell “a disaster” and “incompetent.” Kudlow further argued that Powell was “a highly politicized Fed chairman” with “Bidenesque overattention to woke DEI, climate change, and easy money,” and that $7 trillion in spending “monetized by the Powell Fed” “created a 9 percent inflation peak and over 21 percent cumulative inflation,” leaving Powell “complicit in the disaster known as big-government socialism during the Biden years.”
Our Take (balanced)
The right’s strongest argument is that, with no misconduct found, Powell can resign “in line with tradition” to “de-escalate the unhelpful political battles that have ensnared the Fed,” a case the Journal tied to renovation mismanagement and Kudlow tied to a 9 percent inflation peak after large fiscal spending was monetized. The left’s strongest argument is Rediker’s claim that Powell remains a “tempering influence” on Chair Warsh, treating the Board seat as a check rather than a liability. The central unresolved tension is whether Powell staying on the Board constrains politicization of the Fed or prolongs it.
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