White House accuses Powell of mismanaging Federal Reserve, citing headquarters renovation

President Donald Trump's budget chief said that Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell "has grossly mismanaged the Fed. "Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought also suggested Powell had misled Congress a pricey renovation of the central bank's headquarters

Vought's broadside opens up a new front in the Trump administration's war on the Fed chief

Watch now3:3103:31Trump on possible investigation into Fed Chair Powell: It's ok with me, I think he's terribleHalftime ReportPresident Donald Trump's budget chief on Thursday said that Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell "has grossly mismanaged the Fed" and suggested he had misled Congress a pricey and "ostentatious" renovation of the central bank's headquarters

The broadside by Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought opened up a new front in Trump's war of words against Powell

Trump has repeatedly called on the Fed chairman to cut interest rates, without success

He reportedly has considered firing Powell and, more recently, publicly naming the chairman's replacement months earlier than the end of Powell's term next spring

Jean Carroll sexual abuse, defamation verdictWhite House accuses Powell of mismanaging Federal Reserve, citing headquarters renovationTrump names Transportation Secretary Duffy as interim NASA administratorBishop of major Catholic diocese exempts parishioners from Mas over fears of ICE raidsEmbattled Iran slams consequences of war on oil Trump signals more tariff letters coming WednesdayEuropean Union in limbo as Washington keeps it waiting on a trade agreementTrump's tariffs on cars, copper, aluminum could hit harder than other leviesSupreme Court allows Trump to ceed with big government agency staff cutsTrump 'not happy with Putin,' accuses Russian leader of throwing 'bulls---'Vought's letter raises the question of whether Trump will seek to remove Powell for cause, at least ostensibly

But the Supreme Court in a recent decision strongly suggested that Federal Reserve board members have special tection from being fired by a president

Construction on the Marriner S

Al Drago | Bloomberg | Getty Images"While continuing to run a deficit since FY23 (the first time in the Fed's history), the Fed is way over budget on the renovation of its headquarters," Vought wrote in a post on the social media site X. "Now up to $2. 5 billion, roughly $700 million over its initial cost," Vought wrote. "The cost per square foot is $1,923--double the cost for renovating an ordinary historic federal building

The Palace of Versailles would have cost $3 billion in today's dollars. "Vought's tweet linked to a letter he sent Powell that referenced the Fed boss's June 25 testimony before the Senate Banking Committee. "Your testimony raises serious questions the ject's compliance with the National Capital Planning Act, which requires that jects the Fed headquarters renovation be apved by the National Capital Planning Commission," Vought wrote

Construction on the Marriner S

Al Drago | Bloomberg | Getty Images"The plans for this ject called for rooftop terrace gardens, VIP private dining rooms and elevators, water features, premium marble, and much more," he wrote

But Powell, in his testimony, said, "There's no VIP dining room

There's no new marble

There are no special elevators

There are no new water features

There's no beehives and there's no roof terrace gardens," Vought wrote. "Although minor deviations from apved plans may be inevitable, your testimony appears to reveal that the ject is out of compliance with the apved plan with regard to major design elements," Vought wrote

Jean Carroll sexual abuse, defamation verdictWhite House accuses Powell of mismanaging Federal Reserve, citing headquarters renovationTrump names Transportation Secretary Duffy as interim NASA administratorBishop of major Catholic diocese exempts parishioners from Mas over fears of ICE raidsEmbattled Iran slams consequences of war on oil Trump signals more tariff letters coming WednesdayEuropean Union in limbo as Washington keeps it waiting on a trade agreementTrump's tariffs on cars, copper, aluminum could hit harder than other leviesSupreme Court allows Trump to ceed with big government agency staff cutsTrump 'not happy with Putin,' accuses Russian leader of throwing 'bulls---'"This would bring the ject outside of the NCPC's apval and thus in violation of the NCPA, and require the Fed to immediately halt construction and obtain a new apval from the NCPC before ceeding any further. "The letter asked Powell to respond to 11 questions the renovation ject within seven days

The Federal Reserve declined to on Vought's letter. — Additional reporting by CNBC's Jeff Cox.