The chairman of the Jerome Powell Federal Reserve revealed that he asked the US Central Bank General to review the costs associated with the reconstruction of his historical headquarters in Washington.
Powell’s instruction comes in the middle of amplification of the criticism of the Fed controlled Trump’s administration.
“I asked the IG Board of Directors to take a new stake,” Powell said in a letter to the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee Tim Scott and the highest democrat of the Elizabeth Warren panel.
Letter to Jerome Powell to Trump officials
In a letter reviewed by Reuters and for the first time a reported politician, Powell dealt with fears marked by Trump’s administration and Republican legislators over the reconstruction of the Fed’s headquarters.
According to the letter, there were no functions, including the VIP elevators or dining rooms – which caused a stir from the government – never to the extent of the project. On the other hand, other features such as new water were removed.
Changes in the original design were not essential and “none of them added the cost of the project,” Powell wrote.
According to the source of the cited company Reuters, Powell’s request for IG submitted at the weekend.
Powell’s letter arrives almost a week after the director of the Office for Administration and Budget, Russell Vought, wrote in a letter that Donald Trump was “extremely concerned” by exceeding the cost of a $ 2.5 billion project.
“The chairman is looking forward to receiving more information about costly reconstructions at the Fed headquarters,” said Scott spokesman in response to a letter, adding that the letter is in line with the improvement of transparency.
The Senate Bank Committee is in charge of supervising the Fed event.
In the material published on its website on Friday and summarized in Powell’s letter to senators, the Fed said that the cost exceeding was powered by factors, including higher than estimated materials and labor costs, as well as toxic contamination in the soil, which was released in light during complete rehabilitation of almost 100 -year -old Marriner S.
“We respect the critical importance of the constitutionally derived congress supervision of our activities and we are determined to cooperate and cooperate with you,” Powell wrote to the senators.
The Eccles building, the headquarters of the Fed, was built during the depression, during the administration of President Franklin Delan Roosevelt.
(Tagstotranslate) Federal Reserve (T) Jerome Powell (T) Renovation (T) Trump Administration (T)
