President Donald Trump visited the Federal Reserve on Thursday, a trip that was closely watched amid ongoing tensions between the White House and Fed leadership.
President Trump said he planned to tour the facilities with Fed Chair Jerome Powell, OMB Director Russ Vought and other officials.
President Trump gave brief comments during the tour, where he appeared in a hard hat alongside Powell.
"We would be helped if interest rates come down," President Trump said, but acknowledged the Federal Reserve Board would be responsible for any changes.
The president also criticized the costs of ongoing renovations at the Federal Reserve, apparently down to the plywood cladding used to protect the building's facade during the work.
“It’s a very luxurious situation taking place,” President Trump said. “Let’s put it that way.”
In one exchange, Powell disagreed with President Trump's estimates of the total costs of renovations.
"It looks like it's about $3.1 billion," President Trump said. "It went up a little bit, or a lot. So the $2.7 is now $3.1 [billion]."
Powell, standing next to the President, shook his head.
"I"m not aware of that," he said. "I haven't heard that from anybody at the Fed."
The president took a sheet of paper from his pocket and referenced it.
"You just added in a third building, is what that is," Powell said.
"I know, but it's a building that's being built," President Trump said.
"It was built five years ago," Powell said. "We finished more than five years ago."
"It's part of the overall work," President Trump said.
"It's not new," Powell said.
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President Trump has repeatedly criticized Powell for resisting calls to lower interest rates. Earlier this month, the president met with House Republicans and asked lawmakers for their thoughts on potentially removing Powell, according to a source familiar with the conversation.
Some attendees left the meeting with the impression that Powell’s job could be in jeopardy.
When asked whether he intended to fire Powell, whom he first appointed during his previous term, President Trump said it was “highly unlikely,” though he did not withhold criticism.
"He's costing us a lot of money, and we fight through it," President Trump said. "It's almost [as if] the country has become so successful that it doesn't have a big impact, but it does hurt people wanting to get a mortgage, and people want to buy a house. He's a terrible Fed chair."
There is legal debate over whether the president has the authority to remove the Fed chair solely over disagreements on monetary policy. Meanwhile, President Trump and his allies have begun scrutinizing ongoing renovations at the Federal Reserve, noting that the project's costs have ballooned by more than half a billion dollars.
