The Federal Reserve’s watchdog found that the institution did not “effectively manage” its renovations of the central bank’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., but found no grounds for a criminal probe into former Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on the matter.
“Our review found that the Board has not effectively managed and executed its CMAR contract and repeatedly deviated from its cost-management provisions,” the Office of the Inspector General wrote in its 121-page report on its findings.
The report came after a long battle between Trump and Powell over how the renovations were managed, as well as Powell’s repeated decision not to lower interest rates. As the feud developed, Trump railed against Powell for the project’s price tag, pointing out how the project had become over $1 billion more expensive than its initial estimate.
Powell announced in January that the Department of Justice was investigating him following allegations that he lied in a 2025 Senate testimony regarding renovations to the Fed buildings.
“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 in accordance with the Inspector General Act,” the report reads.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.