Judge Tells Trump to Stop Hiding What He’s Doing With Taxpayer Money

“If they wanted to play the cost game, you do a marble facade and you do the glass facade and you compare the cost,” Stroik told the Associated Press. “And you know, they never did that.”

The project is now $600 million over budget, with an expected total cost of $2.5 billion, including additions of an underground parking garage and atria. The Trump administration is now blaming this on Powell, framing him as an irresponsible spender.

“Chairman Jerome Powell has grossly mismanaged the Fed,” Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought wrote last week on X. “While continuing to run a deficit since FY23 (the first time in the Fed’s history), the Fed is way over budget on the renovation of its headquarters. Now up to $2.5 billion, roughly $700 million over its initial cost. These renovations include terrace rooftop gardens, water features, VIP elevators, and premium marble. The cost per square foot is $1,923--double the cost for renovating an ordinary historic federal building. The Palace of Versailles would have cost $3 billion in today’s dollars!”