Trump Demands Investigation Into Powell, His Firing, After Inspector General Finds No Wrongdoing During Renovations

President Trump is renewing his call for punishment of the former chairman of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, for an over-budget renovation project at the Fed’s complex at Washington. Mr. Trump says he will have the Justice Department look into the matter, but that Mr. Powell should resign regardless of the inspector general’s finding that there was no administrative wrongdoing in the project. Mr. Trump has long had disdain for Mr. Powell even though the president himself nominated the now-former chairman to lead the central bank during his first term. Back in 2018, Mr. Trump attacked Mr. Powell for voting to raise interest rates before that year’s midterm elections. Since returning to the White House, Mr. Trump mused often about firing Mr. Powell for cause. Mr. Trump attempted to remove a different member of the Board of Governors, Lisa Cook, over claims that she had submitted fraudulent mortgage documents to list two properties as her primary residence. The Supreme Court ruled that Ms. Cook is allowed to remain in her position. On Wednesday, the Fed’s inspector general released a 121-page report on the renovations at the central bank’s headquarters, finding that while the project was delayed and over budget, there was no malfeasance, as Mr. Trump has claimed. “At no point during our evaluation did we find reasonable grounds to believe that a violation of federal criminal law had occurred requiring a referral to the U.S. Attorney General,” the inspector general’s office wrote. “[W]e did not identify administrative misconduct during our evaluation.”Shortly after the report was released, Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social that Mr. Powell should, at the very least, resign from the Board of Governors. Mr. Powell has decided to stay on the board even though he is no longer chairman of the Fed. His term on the board ends in January 2028. Mr. Trump wrote that Mr. Powell “should be forced to resign from the Board” because he “can’t manage a Building, and he certainly shouldn’t be allowed to manage his High Interest Rate Policy.” After Mr. Powell’s term as chairman ended, the Fed, under its new chairman, Trump nominee Kevin Warsh, voted unanimously to raise interest rates. Mr. Trump continued on Truth Social, saying that he had asked Attorney General Todd Blanche “to study the report, and make a determination as to what to do.”Mr. Trump also complained about the renovations themselves, saying that he would have done a far better job improving the facilities. He said he does not want his name attached to any of the buildings. “In particular, the magnificent beauty, sculptured ceilings and walls, and so many other things which made the Federal Reserve Building stand apart, will never be captured again, and are only being replaced by flat, boring, less than midlevel finishes,” Mr. Trump wrote online. “I could have done a far better Renovation for 25 Million Dollars, completely maintaining the MAGNIFICENCE of the structure, and had money left over.”“This is Jerome Powell’s fault, and he should be forced to resign, IMMEDIATELY! 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,” the president concluded.

Trump Demands Investigation Into Powell, His Firing, After Inspector General Finds No Wrongdoing During Renovations

Trump Demands Investigation Into Powell, His Firing, After Inspector General Finds No Wrongdoing During Renovations

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