ActiveInvestorMag.comNews Without Noise.
Fed & Monetary Policy

Fed watchdog clears Powell as Trump demands he leave the board

The inspector general found deficiencies but no misconduct in the headquarters renovation; the president called for a resignation and an investigation anyway.

Assembled by Claude from 16 sources at 16 outlets · Thursday, October 1, 2026, Evening edition, 5:29 PM EDT · no human byline

Disclosure. This item was assembled by an AI from the RSS excerpts of the outlets tagged inline. No human wrote or checked it before publication. Feed selection and categories are editorial choices by Teresa Lo. Nothing here is investment advice.

What the report said

The Federal Reserve's inspector general cleared former chair Jerome Powell in the investigation into the central bank's headquarters renovation scotsmanguide.comlemonde.fr. The watchdog found deficiencies but no Fed misconduct in the Powell-era project thedailyrecord.com. Its report did, however, highlight extensive problems with project oversight thedailyrecord.com. Newser summarised the finding as mistakes but no crimes newser.com. Le Monde reported the same conclusion, that the watchdog had cleared the former US Fed chief in the renovation probe lemonde.fr. Scotsman Guide quoted the report's own language, that it outlines numerous problems while clearing the former chair scotsmanguide.com.

The Wall Street Journal noted that the report had been seen as a potential resolution to a political and legal drama that prompted Powell to stay at the Fed after his chairmanship ended wsj.com. The inquiry followed Powell's testimony about the renovation before a Senate committee newser.com. Powell had given testimony regarding the building renovations americanbanker.com.

Trump's response

President Donald Trump called on Powell to resign from the central bank's Board of Governors qz.com. “This is Jerome Powell's fault, and he should be forced to resign, IMMEDIATELY!” Trump wrote americanbanker.compolitico.com. “At a minimum, ‘Too Late’ Powell should be forced to resign from the Board,” he added hawaiitribune-herald.com. Trump made the demand in a TruthSocial post and asked the attorney general to review the report investinglive.com.

He also renewed his call for an investigation into Powell and for the former chairman's removal from the board nysun.com. France 24 reported that Trump is separately trying to sack Fed Governor Lisa Cook over alleged wrongdoing in an unrelated matter france24.com. Cook denies the mortgage fraud allegations against her, and the Supreme Court sided with her in June tvcnews.tv.

What to watch

Politico argued that Powell is likely to stick around at the Fed politico.com. CNBC reported that Trump could seek to remove Powell, Cook and Governor Michael Barr, and that removing them may be hard cnbc.com. An outside investigation into the Fed's handling of the renovation is also under way cnbc.com. One newspaper carried the two findings side by side in a single headline, no Fed misconduct in the renovation and a presidential call for Powell's resignation hawaiitribune-herald.com.

Current Fed chairman Kevin Warsh, who took office in May, has acted on the building itself newser.com. Warsh announced that the US General Services Administration will lead the headquarters renovations gsa.gov. Fox Business reported that Warsh handed GSA the management of the project, which has run to more than $2 billion, after the inspector general found significant cost overruns foxbusiness.com.

Sources

  1. americanbanker.com: Trump says IG report means Powell must be 'forced to resign ' - American Banker (2026-10-01)
  2. politico.com: Why Powell is likely to stick around at the Fed - POLITICO (2026-10-01)
  3. qz.com: Trump demands Jerome Powell resign from Fed board over renovation - Quartz (2026-10-01)
  4. hawaiitribune-herald.com: Watchdog finds no Fed misconduct in renovation; Trump calls for Powell's resignation (2026-10-01)
  5. nysun.com: Trump Demands Investigation Into Powell, His Firing, After Inspector General Finds No ... (2026-10-01)
  6. scotsmanguide.com: Federal Reserve watchdog clears Powell in headquarters renovation saga (2026-10-01)
  7. thedailyrecord.com: Watchdog finds deficiencies but no Fed misconduct in Powell-era renovation project (2026-10-01)
  8. lemonde.fr: Watchdog clears former US Fed chief Powell in renovation probe - Le Monde (2026-10-01)
  9. newser.com: Watchdog: Mistakes, but No Crimes in Fed Renovation - Newser (2026-09-30)
  10. investinglive.com: Trump calls for Powell to resign over Fed renovation, asks attorney general to review report (2026-09-30)
  11. france24.com: Trump renews calls for former Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell's resignation (2026-10-01)
  12. tvcnews.tv: Trump Demands Powell Quit Fed Board Despite Watchdog Finding No Criminal Misconduct (2026-10-01)
  13. cnbc.com: Trump could target three Fed governors. Removing them may be hard - CNBC (2026-10-01)
  14. gsa.gov: The Federal Reserve Taps GSA to Lead HQ Renovations as Chairman Warsh Moves to ... (2026-10-01)
  15. foxbusiness.com: Fed's Warsh cracks down on HQ renovation, taps GSA to lead - Fox Business (2026-10-01)
  16. wsj.com: The inspector general report had been seen as a potential resolution to a political and legal drama that prompted Jerome Powell to stay at the Fed after his chairmanship ended (2026-09-30)