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Housing and City Growth Secretary Scott Turner blasted Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for spending billons of {dollars} renovating the Fed’s headquarters amid a housing disaster he stated Powell helps perpetuate.
The Federal Reserve’s headquarters has been present process a significant renovation that has been suffering from value overruns and now has a price ticket of $2.5 billion. In the meantime, the Trump administration faults Powell for not slicing rates of interest, even with inflation seemingly underneath management.
“It’s wealthy that an unelected bureaucrat like Powell is losing billions of taxpayer {dollars} on constructing renovations whereas Individuals wrestle to purchase houses on account of excessive mortgage charges, that are immediately impacted by his refusal to decrease rates of interest,” Turner instructed Fox Information Digital.
HUD grew to become the primary Cupboard company to announce a transfer out of Washington, D.C., with Turner reporting in June that the division was shifting to the already present Nationwide Science Basis (NSF) in close by Alexandria, Virginia. Turner stated the transfer will liberate thousands and thousands in taxpayer funds that had been spent on the large, longtime HUD headquarters at D.C.’s L’Enfant Plaza that additionally included “well being hazards, leaks, and structural and upkeep failures” for staffers.
“HUD’s transfer isn’t about me – our workforce deserves to be in a constructing that’s secure and that matches our workforce. NSF was by no means in a position to totally fill their constructing to occupancy and can transfer right into a constructing that most closely fits their workforce. As a substitute of spending practically a half-billion {dollars} on renovating 10 flooring of basement with perpetual leaks, HUD and GSA are saving the taxpayers cash – one thing that Chairman Powell, sitting in his ivory tower, thinks he’s above – and placing Individuals first,” Turner continued.
HUD BECOMES FIRST MAJOR CABINET AGENCY TO EXIT DC, CITING ‘FAILING’ HQ — WHICH DOGE WANTS TO SELL
HUD Secretary Turner slammed Fed Chair Powell for “losing billions of taxpayer {dollars} on constructing renovations whereas Individuals wrestle to purchase houses on account of excessive mortgage charges.” (Getty Photos)
Hypothesis has swirled that President Donald Trump might attempt to oust the Fed chief forward of his time period formally ending in Could 2026 on account of his reluctance to decrease the federal funds goal fee, which might decrease borrowing prices for Individuals. The Fed in June held its benchmark rate of interest vary between 4.25%-4.5%, which Trump has argued stifles American financial progress.
The Fed, which units financial insurance policies and oversees banks, has stated selections on rates of interest are rooted in its data-dependent method to managing inflation and financial progress. It acts independently, which means it doesn’t require approval from the president or Congress when enacting insurance policies.
Trump has amplified his criticisms of Powell in latest weeks, arguing that he already ought to have lowered rates of interest, whereas calling him a “numbskull” together with the nickname “Mr. Too Late.” On the latest NATO summit in Canada, Trump stated throughout a press convention that Powell is “horrible” and is a “very common mentally individual” who has a “low IQ for what he does.”
‘FOR SALE’: DOGE MOVES TO SELL OFF ALMOST HALF A BILLION IN FEDERAL REAL ESTATE, RELOCATE CABINET AGENCY HQS
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell responds to a query at a gathering of The Financial Membership of Washington, in Washington, D.C., Feb. 7, 2023. (Reuters/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades/File Photograph)
Trump stated latest, over-budget renovations on the Fed headquarters, the Marriner S. Eccles Constructing, “type of is” a “fireable offense.”
“I feel he is horrible. I feel he is a complete stiff. However the one factor I did not see in him is a man that wanted a palace to dwell in,” Trump instructed reporters final week.
“You discuss to the man. It is like speaking to – nothing. It is like speaking to a chair. No character, no excessive intelligence, no nothing. However the one factor I might have by no means guessed is that he can be spending $2.5 billion to construct a bit extension.”
HUD SECRETARY SCOTT TURNER LAYS OUT AGENCY WINS DURING FIRST 100 DAYS, SHARES PRIORITIES FOR NEXT 100
Democrat lawmakers have slammed Trump’s assaults on Powell over the Fed constructing’s updates, together with Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren taking a swipe at Turner for shifting HUD to Virginia.
President Donald Trump arrives on the South Garden of the White Home from Camp David on June 9, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Name, Inc)
“If Trump had been critical about reducing rates of interest, he would rein in his chaotic tariffs,” Warren stated earlier this month throughout a speech on the Exchequer Membership in D.C. “As a substitute, he’s threatening to fireside the chairman of the Federal Reserve. When his preliminary makes an attempt to bully Powell failed, Trump and Republicans in Congress all of a sudden determined to look into how a lot the Fed is spending on constructing renovations.”
TRUMP SHOULD RAZE HUD HEADQUARTERS TO DRAIN DC SWAMP
HUD is predicted to save lots of $22 million per yr on working and upkeep prices by shifting out of the Robert C. Weaver Constructing, whereas the federal government is predicted to drag in a hefty sum when the constructing is formally bought on account of its prime location within the nation’s capital.
The company’s new house at NSF is anticipated to value the federal government $35 per sq. foot, in comparison with the $86 per sq. foot on the Weaver constructing, together with operations and upkeep, Fox Digital discovered.
The federal authorities had spent $90 million on repairs for the large Weaver constructing within the final 15 years, Fox Digital discovered, however the constructing has “deteriorated nicely past the purpose of cost-effective restore, creating vital monetary obligations for the federal authorities if occupancy is maintained,” HUD reported in June.
The Robert C. Weaver Federal Constructing in Washington, D.C. (Carol M. Highsmith/Buyenlarge/Getty Photos)
HUD OFFICES BECAME AS VACANT AS A ‘SPIRIT HALLOWEEN’ STORE UNDER BIDEN: ADMIN SOURCES
The Federal Reserve on Sunday morning declined remark when requested about Turner’s remarks to Fox Digital.
The Fed’s web site features a ceaselessly requested questions web page concerning the constructing’s renovations, together with underscoring that the Fed’s board “takes the accountability to be an excellent steward of public sources,” and is topic to a handful of safeguards to make sure transparency.
“The Federal Reserve Chair testifies to every home of Congress twice per yr on financial coverage. Throughout two sequential days of hearings, members of the Home and Senate have the chance to query the Fed Chair on any matter, after which submit questions in writing after the hearings. As a part of these hearings, the Federal Reserve publishes a semiannual Financial Coverage Report, detailing latest financial and financial coverage developments,” the web page states.
Trump, who appointed Powell throughout his first presidential time period, has in the meantime continued slamming Powell on social media for the present rates of interest he stated are “choking” the housing marketplace for Individuals.
Secretary of Housing and City Growth nominee Scott Turner is sworn in throughout his Senate affirmation listening to on Jan. 16, 2025. (Invoice Clark/CQ-Roll Name, Inc through Getty Photos)
“Too Late,” and the Fed, are choking out the housing market with their excessive fee, making it troublesome for individuals, particularly the younger, to purchase a home,” Trump wrote on Reality Social Friday. “He’s really one in all my worst appointments. Sleepy Joe noticed how unhealthy he was and reappointed him anyway.”
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“The USA is Rockin’, there’s VERY LOW INFLATION, and we should be at 1%, saving One Trillion {Dollars} a yr on Curiosity Prices. I can’t inform you how dumb Too Late is – So unhealthy for our Nation!”
Fox Information Digital’s Eric Revell and Amanda Macias contributed to this report.
