Face to Face, Powell Told Trump He Was Wrong About a Construction Project

President Trump is used to world leaders bowing down to him, and to cabinet members fawning over him. Jerome H. Powell, the chair of the Federal Reserve, took a different approach.


President Trump toured the Federal Reserve’s renovation site on Thursday with Jerome H. Powell, the Fed chair. Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times

By Erica L. Green
Erica L. Green covers the White House. She reported from Washington.
July 24, 2025

The chair of the Federal Reserve closed his eyes and shook his head. … He was about to do something that few senior government officials ever do, at least in public: fact-check President Trump in real time. … Jerome H. Powell has been the target of Mr. Trump’s attacks for weeks because of the central bank’s unwillingness to lower interest rates. Mr. Trump has called him a “moron,” a “numbskull,” a “disaster” and more.

On Thursday, as Mr. Powell accompanied the president on a tour of the Federal Reserve’s headquarters, the Fed chair seemed fed up. The president wanted to take him to task over the cost of renovations to the building, but Mr. Powell was having none of it. … “So we’re taking a look, and it looks like it’s about 3.1 billion,” Mr. Trump started in, prompting Mr. Powell to shake his head. “It went up a little bit — or a lot.” … “So, the 2.7 is now 3.1,” Mr. Trump continued, causing Mr. Powell to recoil and look at the president with a puzzled expression.

Seeming to anticipate Mr. Powell’s objection — the chair said he had never heard the figure, and that no such numbers had come from the Federal Reserve — Mr. Trump reached into his jacket pocket for a document detailing the costs, which he said “just came out.” … Mr. Powell took the paper, scanned it for a moment, and looked up. The two men, wearing matching white hard hats at an active construction site, stood side by side before the cameras.

“You just added in a third building,” Mr. Powell said. … “It’s a building that’s being built,” Mr. Trump said. … “No, it was built five years ago,” Mr. Powell said. … Mr. Trump tried to get in the last word: “It’s part of the overall work.” … But Mr. Powell stood his ground. “It’s not new,” he said, as the president kept his face toward the cameras and changed the subject.

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Erica L. Green is a White House correspondent for The Times, covering President Trump and his administration.