President Trump, who has repeatedly criticized Federal Reserve Chairman Powell for not cutting interest rates, visited the Federal Reserve headquarters in Washington, D.C. on the 24th, publicly mocking Powell over the actual $2.5 billion (about 10.547 billion ringgit) renovation of the headquarters.
Trump criticized the Fed for spending too much money to preserve the historic building, calling it extremely lavish.
He noted that the renovation plan cost $3.1 billion and questioned whether all those expenses were for the Fed renovation project.
However, Powell, who was present, corrected Trump, saying, “I’ve never heard anyone say that.”
Trump then showed Powell a piece of paper that appeared to list the construction costs, but Powell briefly responded that the money included work on the Martin II building, which is not part of the project.
Powell said: “You included the renovation of the Martin Building—you added a third building.”
Trump, sticking to his view, said it was part of the overall reconstruction project, but Powell refuted, “No, it was built 5 years ago. We finished the Martin Building renovation 5 years ago... it’s not a new building.”
In addition, Trump told the media that he discussed interest rates with Powell and that the discussion was very productive.
He said he hoped Powell would lower interest rates, stating that if current rates were cut from 3% to 1%, the U.S. would save more than one trillion dollars.