Watchdog to review Fed building project

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has asked the US central bank’s inspector general to review the costs involved in the renovation of its historic headquarters in Washington, as Trump administration officials intensify their criticism of how the Fed is being run.

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“I have asked the Board's IG to take a fresh look at the project,” Mr Powell told Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott and the panel's top Democrat, Elizabeth Warren, in a letter dated Monday and viewed by Reuters.

The letter, first reported by Politico, responded to concerns raised by the Trump administration and Republican lawmakers about the renovation.

The letter said that some features that had drawn criticism, including VIP elevators or dining rooms, had never been in the project's scope, and others, including new water features, had been eliminated. Changes to the original design were not substantial and “none of them added cost to the project,” Mr Powell wrote.

The request to Fed Inspector General Michael Horowitz, first reported by Axios, was made over the weekend, according to a source familiar with the matter.