Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell wrote directly to Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought on Thursday in an apparent attempt to defuse questions about the renovation project on two of the Federal Reserve’s headquarters buildings in Washington, D.C.

Some of the highlights in Powell’s letter: There are no VIP dining rooms being constructed. Nor are there new “water features,” special VIP elevators, a new “garden terrace” or new marble adorning the buildings.

What is happening is a series of very extensive and expensive renovation projects on the Marriner S. Eccles Building and the 1951 Constitution Avenue Building, which date back to the 1930s. It was originally budgeted for $1.9 billion in 2019, but is facing major cost overruns and is now expected to cost $2.5 billion. The renovation includes new plumbing, HVAC systems and the rehabilitation of old elevators that make the buildings more accessible for people with disabilities.

The projects have become the latest front on an extensive pressure campaign by the Trump administration to force Powell out as chair of the Fed. President Donald Trump has long been angry at Powell for being reluctant to lower interest rates and has threatened to fire Powell, but it is unclear if Trump has the legal right to fire him.

The New York Times reported that on Tuesday night, Trump waved a copy of a draft letter firing Powell during a meeting with House Republicans in the Oval Office. Trump has since denied that he had such a letter or was planning to fire Powell.

Earlier in July, Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte accused Powell of lying to Congress about the specifics of the renovation project. He demanded Powell be fired “for cause.” Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., compared the remodeling project to the opulent Palace of Versailles outside Paris, France.

Recently joining the fray has been OMB’s Vought, who posted a two-page letter on X that was addressed to Powell, accusing him of mismanagement of the Fed’s operating budget. He wrote that Powell’s testimony on June 25 before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs raised serious questions about whether the renovation project has deviated from the original plans. The letter included 11 design-related questions and asked Powell to respond.

In the letter, Powell responds to Vought’s questions and states that the Fed has established a section of its public website to provide information on the extensive renovation project. He explains the project is subject to budget approval each year by the Federal Reserve Board. In addition, the Fed’s independent inspector general (IG) has had full access to project information on costs, contracts and expenditures. Powell writes the IG conducted a project audit in 2021, and Powell has now requested that the IG conduct a fresh review.

Powell writes that while periodic work has been done on the buildings, this is the first comprehensive renovation project since they were originally completed.

“Both buildings were in need of significant structural repairs and other updates to make the buildings safe, healthy, and effective places to work,” Powell writes.

Those projects include mitigation of asbestos and lead contamination, and upgrades to the electrical, plumbing, heating, air conditioning and ventilation systems.

While Vought has been critical of Powell’s dealings with the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC), which oversees such projects, Powell maintains that the Fed is not generally subject to the direction of NCPC with respect to its building projects, but they voluntarily collaborated with the commission.

He writes that the Fed board has worked closely with the NCPC, and that since the project started, the board “has enjoyed constructive, collaborative and fruitful engagement with the NCPC.”

Since the NCPC approved the plans, there have been a small number of design changes to scale back or eliminate certain elements or add new elements. The changes were aimed and simplifying construction and reducing further delays and cost increases. The Fed board didn’t regard the changes as substantial enough to warrant further review.

As for concerns of opulence, Powell argues that there are no VIP dining rooms being constructed. Instead, historic multi-use rooms on the fourth floor of the Eccles Building that are used as conference rooms and for mealtime meetings are being renovated. Various aspects of the buildings, including the facades, were originally built with marble. Powell writes the project is salvaging the original exterior marble to be reinstalled and will use new domestic marble from Georgia in places where the original marble has been damaged.  

Powell writes that the “garden terrace” referred to in the NCPC submission is the ground-level front lawn of the 1951 Constitution Avenue building that serves as the roof of the parking structure beneath.  

The structures are described as essentially a green roof, which are commonly used “to help with stormwater management and to increase building efficiency and roof longevity. Green roofs are found on other federal government buildings, like the Department of Justice, Interior, and many others, and are encouraged by the General Services Administration,” Powell explained.

Powell writes that more information is available on the Fed’s website. Whether or not his letter will stop the barrage of attacks against the current chair remains to be seen.