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According to a new report out of The New York Post, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is facing accusations of lying to Congress after denying that a $2.5 billion renovation of the Fed’s D.C. headquarters includes lavish upgrades.
Powell dismissed The Post’s April report as “misleading,” but critics, including Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), have compared the project to the “Palace of Versailles” and are calling for consequences.
During questioning last week, Powell told the Senate Banking Committee panel the following: “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.”
Powell’s denial contradicts official planning documents approved in 2021, which remain unchanged. The filings detail restored private dining rooms, an extended elevator to the governors’ dining suite, “vegetated roof terraces” for urban wildlife, and added marble and water features.
Andrew T. Levin — a professor of economics at Dartmouth College who served as an economist and advisor to the Fed’s board from 1992 to 2012 — urged Congress to step in and punish Powell for lying to lawmakers.
“A top Fed official cannot be permitted to make false statements under oath at a congressional hearing. Such statements must be promptly corrected, and in egregious cases, subject to censure by the Senate,” said economist Andrew T. Levin, who was a professor of economics at Dartmouth College and an advisor to the Fed’s board from 1992 to 2012. In his statement to Congress, Levin urged lawmakers to take action and hold Powell accountable for his deception.
Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) criticized Fed Chair Jerome Powell, telling The Post he was unprepared and “should be embarrassed” for making false claims about the Fed’s luxury renovations. She called it typical of his “mismanagement and ‘don’t bother me’ attitude.”
At 72, Fed Chair Jerome Powell downplayed concerns at Wednesday’s hearing about taxpayer-subsidized cost overruns in the Fed HQ renovation, saying, “The cost overruns are what they are.” The project’s price has surged 30% from its original $1.9 billion estimate. By contrast, JPMorgan’s new 60-story Midtown Manhattan headquarters at 270 Park Ave. is expected to cost around $3 billion.
Sen. Scott, who serves as the Senate Banking Chair, slammed the upgrades as “luxury” and likened them to the Palace of Versailles. After The Post exposed the spending, former Government Efficiency chief Elon Musk called it “an eyebrow raiser” and urged DOGE to investigate the costly “vanity project.”
The controversy is escalating as Powell is also facing heat from President Trump over his failure to cut interest rates, a move aimed at helping struggling Americans economically.
🚨BREAKING: Fed Chair Jerome Powell under scrutiny for $2.5 Billion Dollar “Remodel” of the central bank’s Washington headquarters.
Powell plans to have “VIP private dining rooms, luxury elevators, skylights, water fountains, and roof terrace.”
For a BANK??? pic.twitter.com/xb5By0nOTk
— The Patriot Oasis™ (@ThePatriotOasis) June 30, 2025
