According to the Gateway Pundit, the probe centers on the ballooning cost of the Eccles Building overhaul, which has surged from an already staggering $1.9 billion to $2.5 billion. “Powell has asked the central bank’s inspector general to conduct an additional review of the ongoing renovation, CNN previously reported. Last month, some Senate lawmakers grilled Powell over what they depicted as lavish upgrades to its DC headquarters at Powell’s semiannual monetary policy hearing,’ CNN previously reported.”
“The Fed’s renovation project was approved by its board in 2017 and originally cost $1.9 billion in 2019. Construction began in 2021, but the cost swelled to $2.5 billion because of ‘unforeseen conditions’ requiring more spending to rectify, such as ‘more asbestos than anticipated, toxic contamination in soil, and a higher-than-expected water table,’ according to the Fed’s website,” CNN reported. Those explanations have done little to reassure fiscal conservatives, who see yet another example of an unaccountable bureaucracy treating public money as an endless well.
January 12, 2026
Concerns over Powell’s conduct escalated last July, when he was criminally referred to the Department of Justice. GOP Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna sent a formal letter to the DOJ accusing the Fed chief of perjury tied to his sworn testimony about the renovation.
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“On June 25, 2025, Chairman Powell provided testimony under oath before the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs regarding the renovation of the Federal Reserve’s Eccles Building. In his statements, he made several materially false claims,” Luna’s letter said, according to Fox News. Rep. Luna has been explicit that she believes Powell misled lawmakers about the true nature and scale of the cost overruns.
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“Separately, in a letter to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought, Chairman Powell characterized the changes that escalated the cost of the project from $1.9 billion to $2.5 billion as minor. However, documents reviewed by congressional investigators indicate that the scope and cost overruns of this project were neither minor in nature nor in substance,” Luna wrote. For Republicans long skeptical of the Fed’s opaque power, the allegations reinforce calls for tighter oversight and a return to fiscal restraint.
On Sunday, The New York Times reported that Powell is under federal criminal investigation, with U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro having opened the case in November. Powell, clearly under pressure, released a video response after the story broke.
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Jerome Powell said the Federal Reserve released grand jury subpoenas from the DOJ Friday that threatened a criminal indictment. As the investigation advances, conservatives are likely to press not only for accountability from Powell personally, but also for broader reforms to rein in a central bank that has operated for too long with minimal transparency and virtually no direct democratic check.
