Foundation work for the Fed expansion was so difficult that contractors responsible for the job received a 2025 award for “excellence in the face of adversity” from the Washington Building Congress.
For months, the renovation of the Federal Reserve’s headquarters in Washington has been a subject of friction between the White House and the central bank. On Jan. 11, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the Justice Department had issued subpoenas in advance of a possible criminal indictment related to the ongoing work.
The cost of the work has ballooned to $2.5 billion, and allies of President Donald Trump have previously pressed for an investigation. Powell described the DOJ inquiry as a pressure campaign led by the White House.
Any evidence of mismanagement or fraud, as Trump administration officials have suggested, could prove a useful pretext for removing Powell, who the president has repeatedly lambasted for interest rates higher than he’d like.