Powell cleared in handling of Fed renovations

Powell cleared in handling of Fed renovations

Former Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and Fed officials did not violate criminal law during their handling of the central bank’s ongoing multimillion-dollar renovation project, the Fed’s internal watchdog said in a Wednesday report.

© Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Associated Press

The office of Fed Inspector General Michael Horowitz acknowledged the central bank “has not effectively executed” the construction management risk contract for the renovations of two of its buildings in Washington.

Horowitz opened a probe into Powell’s handling of the project in April, at the recommendation of U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro — who oversaw her own three-month investigation into the former Fed chair.

Powell defended himself when Pirro’s office opened the probe, saying it was a pretext to pressure the Fed to lower interest rates. President Trump has repeatedly urged the central bank to lower rates.

“The threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the president,” Powell said in a video message announcing the probe.

The Justice Department’s investigation centered around Powell’s remarks to the Senate Banking Committee in June 2025, when he defended the rising costs of the project to panel Chair Tim Scott (R-S.C.).

“There’s no VIP dining room. There’s no new marble. We took down the old marble, we’re putting it back up. We’ll have to use new marble where some of the old marble broke,” Powell said at the time.

Welcome to The Hill’s Business & Economy newsletter , I’m Max Rego — covering the intersection of Wall Street and Pennsylvania Avenue.

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Key business and economic news with implications this week and beyond:

Appeals court backs finding Trump colluded with IRS, Treasury

An appeals court Tuesday sided with a lower court judge who determined President Trump colluded with the Department of Justice (DOJ) in bringing and later dismissing a case seeking $10 billion in damages from the IRS.

Senators announce long-awaited permitting reform deal

Democratic and Republican senators on Wednesday announced a long-sought deal on permitting reform that they say will speed the construction of the nation’s energy and infrastructure projects while reining in costs from data centers.

Fed’s preferred measure of inflation dips to 3.4 percent in August

The Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation dipped in August, as multiple central bank officials have said future interest rate hikes could be on the horizon.

Citadel founder and CEO Ken Griffin is donating $3 billion to Carnegie Mellon University, according to an announcement from the institution on Wednesday.

Business and economic news we’ve flagged from other outlets:

Man City guilty of ‘sham’ sponsorship deals after decade of English soccer dominance ( CNBC )

Fed finalizes bank ‘stress test’ overhaul ( Reuters )

Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) is facing accusations he tried to launch a conspiracy tying former special counsel Jack Smith to others who prosecuted President Trump — a line of questioning that unwound when the senator apparently confused two basketball teams. Read more

Senate Democrats on Wednesday blocked a bill sponsored by vulnerable GOP incumbent Sen. Pete Ricketts (Neb.) to restrict members of Congress from buying new stocks of publicly traded companies, arguing the legislation didn’t go far enough to crack down on possible corruption. Read more

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