Trump to visit Federal Reserve headquarters as feud with its chair continues

Washington, Jul 24 (AP) — President Donald Trump is set to visit the Federal Reserve headquarters in Washington this Thursday, a week following his suggestion that Fed Chair Jerome Powell's management of a large-scale renovation project at two of the Fed's buildings could justify his dismissal.

For several months, Trump has been expressing his dissatisfaction with Powell, due to the Fed maintaining the short-term interest rate under his leadership at 4.3 percent this year. This comes after the rate was cut three times the previous year. Powell maintains that the Federal Reserve aims to gauge the economic impact of Trump's extensive tariffs on imports, which he believes could trigger inflation.

Trump's frustration with Powell's cautious approach has intensified, prompting his insistence on the Fed to lower borrowing costs to boost economic growth and decrease the interest payments on federal debts.

The Federal Reserve has been undertaking renovations on its Washington headquarters as well as an adjacent building. The project's expenses have significantly increased to approximately USD 2.5 billion from an initial estimate of USD 1.9 billion. The reasons for the rise include underground construction activities and soaring building material costs following the inflation surge in 2021 and 2022.

In a response to a query last week, Trump stated that the extravagant renovation spending could indeed be a valid reason for dismissing Powell, saying, “I think it is.” He further commented, “When you spend USD 2.5 billion on, really, a renovation, I think it's really disgraceful.”

Ousting Powell could potentially jeopardize the independence of the Federal Reserve, a principle widely endorsed by economists and investors on Wall Street. (AP) GRS GRS

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