The White House is trying to turn the Federal Reserve into a poster child for wasteful spending, criticizing an expensive renovation at the central bank’s headquarters as President Donald Trump pursues an extraordinary pressure campaign to lower interest rates. The latest step came Thursday when Russ Vought, Trump’s top budget adviser, sent a letter to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell saying the president is “extremely troubled” that plans may have violated government building rules with an “ostentatious overhaul.” Trump also named two close aides — James Blair, a deputy chief of staff, and Will Scharf, the staff secretary who furnishes the president with executive orders for his signature — to the National Capital Planning Commission, an obscure panel that could provide another avenue to increase scrutiny. Blair said he would be “requesting a review of all previous and current building plans” and suggested that Powell wasn’t honest while testifying to Congress about the renovations last month. If Powell isn’t truthful, Blair wrote on social media, “how else is the American Public to maintain confidence that its monetary policy manager is acting in their interests?” Taken together, the latest steps amount to an escalating effort to dislodge Powell from his position as chairman before his term ends next May. It’s an unprecedented attempt to reshape the Federal Reserve’s traditional role as an autonomous arbiter of U.S. monetary policy. If successful, Trump will have expanded his influence to yet another corner of American government that was once seen as beyond the reach of political pressure, but he will have also jeopardized the independence that has made the central bank a foundational player in the U.S. economy. On Wednesday, Trump said Powell “should resign immediately” so “we should get somebody in there that’s going to lower interest rates.” He suggested that he’d rather have Scott Bessent, his Treasury secretary, as a replacement. Powell has resisted Trump’s pressure, largely out of concern that Trump’s tariff plans could increase costs for American consumers. If rates are lowered too aggressively, it could lead to a resurgence of inflation. But Trump insists that inflation is no longer a problem, and a rate cut would help make mortgages, auto loans and other forms of consumer debt cheaper. Trump has also said it would allow the U.S. government to finance its debt more cheaply, a pressing concern as legislation signed by the president is poised to increase the federal deficit by extending tax cuts. “LOWER THE RATE!!!” Trump wrote on social media on Thursday as he continued a near-daily drumbeat of criticism. However, there’s no guarantee that financial markets will reduce rates on government debt even if the Fed bows to Trump’s wishes. Such a situation could lead to higher interest costs for consumers — a reminder of how monetary missteps may backfire. Powell was nominated to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors by President Barack Obama, then made chairman by Trump during his first term. But in his second term, Trump turned Powell — who has sought to avoid politics and refrains from responding directly to the president— into one of his primary antagonists. Trump has said that he wouldn’t directly oust Powell — “I don’t know why it would be so bad, but I’m not going to fire him,” he said last month. The Supreme Court said in May that it could block such a step. However, Trump’s allies have found other […]