NBC News | Friday, July 25, 2025 
White House keeps pressure on Fed Chair Powell day after Trump appeared to back off

Hours after President Donald Trump appeared to take the temperature down with Fed Chair Jerome Powell, the White House on Friday resumed its attacks on the central bank chief and its headquarters renovation. After touring the central bank’s main office on Thursday afternoon, Trump told reporters that he wouldn’t consider the construction project a fireable offense for Powell. “I feel good about it,” Trump said about his relationship with the Fed chair. He added that “I just don’t think it’s necessary” to attempt to fire Powell. But on CNBC on Friday morning, Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought said he observed “largesse everywhere” on the tour of the Federal Reserve’s construction site. Vought said his criticism is about “doing enormous renovations of an entire headquarters building and largely escaping the notice of the public and Congress.” The Fed chair testifies before Congress twice a year and is subject to oversight from the Senate banking committee and House financial services committee. Vought was asked if the renovation project was a pretext to firing Powell. He pointed to Trump’s recent comments in which the president said it was “unlikely,” but did not fully rule it out. A president can only fire a Federal Reserve official “for cause.” For months, the president and top administration officials have attacked Powell and  his management of the central bank along with…Read more