On July 24, 2025, local time in Washington, USA, President Donald Trump (center), Republican Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina (left), and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell (right) visited the construction site of the Federal Reserve. Photo by Visual China.
President Trump made a personal visit to the Federal Reserve.
On July 24, local time, Trump made an unusual visit to the Federal Reserve. Together with Federal Reserve Chairman Powell, he wore white safety helmets and toured the building that is being renovated. According to news reports, it was the first official visit by the President of the United States to the Federal Reserve in nearly 20 years.
CNBC pointed out that the market generally believes this is a new way for Trump to pressure Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, aiming to force him to cut interest rates or resign from his position as Fed Chair.
During the media Q&A session on the day, Trump and Powell responded to questions about interest rates and whether Powell would be fired.
When asked if Powell could say something to persuade Trump to change his criticisms, Trump expressed hope that Powell would lower interest rates. According to news reports, Trump stated that if interest rates were reduced by three percentage points to one percentage point, the US could save over ten thousand billion dollars. He will observe how the committee sets interest rate rules.
When discussing whether Powell would be fired, Trump said it was a significant move and believed there was no need, “He took me around showing the construction… I don’t want to target him personally.”
Since returning to the White House in January this year, Trump has repeatedly called for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates and even threatened to fire Powell, who has remained unmoved.
On July 1, local time, Powell stated at the European Central Bank forum that the Federal Reserve is working hard to achieve macro-stability, financial stability, and economic stability, which requires a completely non-political approach, meaning the Fed does not favor, provoke, or confront any side.
As of the time of writing, data from CME Group indicates that the likelihood of the Federal Reserve maintaining its current interest rate in July is 97.4%, with a probability of cutting interest rates by 25 basis points at 2.6%; and for September, the likelihood is 38%, with a probability of cutting interest rates by 25 basis points at 60.4%.
In the early hours of June 18th local time, the Federal Reserve’s latest interest rate decision kept the target range for the federal funds rate unchanged at 4.25%-4.5%, in line with market expectations. With this, the Federal Reserve has maintained the aforementioned rates unchanged for four consecutive meetings. The Fed’s July meeting will be held on July 29th-30th local time.
Powell Addresses Overspending Issues in Building Renovations
During the media question period, the issue of overspending in the Federal Reserve building renovations was brought up. This was once seen as a new tactic used by Trump to attack Powell.
Trump stated that the construction costs for the two Federal Reserve buildings exceeded $3.1 billion, handing Powell a piece of paper.
Regarding the cost overrun reaching $3.1 billion, Powell said he had not heard anyone mention such issues. After quickly reviewing the paper Trump handed him, Powell pointed out that the new expenditure was mainly for the construction of the third building, which had been completed years ago.
Later that day, Trump posted on social media saying it was a great honor to visit with Powell, “The cost overrun is indeed substantial, but looking at the positive side, our country is developing well, almost capable of covering anything—even this building’s expenses.”
Previously, an official from the White House raised doubts about the project.
On July 10th, local time, Russell Vought, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget in the United States, posted on social media that the Federal Reserve had not attempted to correct its fiscal difficulties but instead unilaterally undertook renovations at the Fed’s headquarters in Washington. In his message, Vought noted that the renovation project for the Fed headquarters building has significantly exceeded its budget, currently reaching $2.5 billion, which is approximately $700 million more than the initial cost.