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    Powell asks inspector general to review $2.5 billion renovation after Trump blasts Fed project

    The Federal Reserve has brought in its inspector general to review a building expansion that has drawn fire from the White House, according to a source familiar with the issue.
    “We’ve got a real problem of oversight and excess spending,” Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, said Monday on CNBC.

    Construction on the Marriner S. Eccles Federal Reserve building in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, June 25, 2025.
    Al Drago | Bloomberg | Getty Images

    The Federal Reserve has brought in its inspector general to review a building expansion that has drawn fire from the White House, according to a source familiar with the issue.
    Fed Chair Jerome Powell asked for the review, following blistering criticism of the project, initially pegged at $2.5 billion but hit by cost overruns that have brought accusations from President Donald Trump and other administration officials of “fundamental mismanagement.”

    “The idea that the Fed could print money and then spend $2.5 billion on a building without real congressional oversight, it didn’t occur to the people that framed the Federal Reserve Act,” Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, said Monday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” “We’ve got a real problem of oversight and excess spending.”
    The inspector general serves the Fed and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and is responsible for looking for fraud, waste and abuse. Powell’s request was reported first by Axios.
    In a letter posted to social media last week, Russell Vought, head of the Office of Management and Budget, also slammed the project, which involves two of the Fed’s three Washington, D.C., buildings including its main headquarters known as the Eccles Building.

    Vought, during a CNBC interview Friday, likened the building to the Palace of Versailles in France and charged that Powell was guilty of “fiscal mismanagement” at the Fed.
    For its part, the central bank has posted a detailed frequently asked questions page on its site, highlighting key details and explaining why some of the specifications were changed or “scaled back or eliminated” at least in part due to higher-than-expected construction costs.

    “The project also remediates safety issues by removing hazardous materials such as asbestos and lead and will bring the buildings up to modern code,” the page explains. “While periodic work has been done to keep the buildings occupiable, neither building has seen a comprehensive renovation since they were constructed.”
    The Fed is not a taxpayer-funded institution and is therefore not under the OMB’s supervision. It has worked with the National Capital Planning Commission in Washington on the project, but also noted on the FAQ page that it “does not regard any of those changes as warranting further review.”
    In separate comments, former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh, speaking Sunday on Fox News, called the renovation costs “outrageous” and said it was more evidence the central bank “has lost its way.” Warsh is considered a strong contender to succeed Powell when the latter’s term as chair expires in May 2026.
    Clarification: This article has been updated to clarify that Warsh’s comments originally aired on Fox News.

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    GM, LG to upgrade Tennessee plant to make low-cost EV batteries

    Ultium Cells — a joint venture between General Motors and LG Energy Solution — is upgrading its Spring Hill, Tennessee, facility to make low-cost EV battery cells.
    The batteries could be significantly cheaper than those used in other vehicles because they do not require expensive minerals like cobalt and nickel.

    Ultium Cells Spring Hill, TN. September 2022.
    Courtesy: Ultium Cells LLC

    Ultium Cells, a joint venture between General Motors and LG Energy Solution, said Monday it’s upgrading its facility in Spring Hill, Tennessee, to make low-cost electric vehicle battery cells.
    GM said the lithium iron phosphate battery cells — abbreviated LFP based on the elements’ chemical symbols — could be significantly cheaper than battery packs used in some EVs, in part because they don’t require expensive minerals like cobalt and nickel that are used in standard lithium-ion batteries.

    “This upgrade at Spring Hill will enable us to scale production of lower-cost LFP cell technologies in the U.S., complementing our high-nickel and future lithium manganese rich solutions and further diversifying our growing EV portfolio,” Kurt Kelty, vice president of batteries, propulsion and sustainability at GM, said in a release.
    GM has 12 EVs in its lineup, spanning a price range of roughly $35,000 to more than $300,000.
    The Detroit automaker teamed up with LG to invest $2.3 billion in the Tennessee battery plant when it was announced in 2021. The companies said Monday’s announcement builds on the partnership, but did not disclose an additional dollar amount for the upgrade.
    Ultium said it expects commercial production of the LFP cells to begin by late 2027.
    The announcement comes as GM has been working on a separate type of new battery technology for its largest electric SUVs and trucks. Different EV battery chemistries impact everything from the range and safety of EVs to energy efficiency and charging capabilities, among other needs.

    GM also said Monday that it has invested $900 million for new battery development labs in Michigan.
    The same year that GM and LG announced their investment in Tennessee, GM CEO Mary Barra said GM would exclusively offer EVs by 2035. At the time, she said the company would invest $35 billion between 2020 and 2025 on the effort, but GM has since said customer demand — which has been slower than expected — will dictate its EV plans, and it has not disclosed its total EV investment thus far.

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    Tax cuts for private jet buyers expected to lead to surge in sales

    The new federal spending bill might help boost sales of private jets, as owners take advantage of faster write-offs of the purchase price.
    The tax benefit, which revives a provision of the 2017 tax cuts, only applies to business jets, not jets used for personal use.
    The private jet industry has seen a slowdown in growth from its feverish pitch in 2020 and 2021.

    Private jets parked at the Friedman Memorial Airport during the Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference on July 10, 2025 in Sun Valley, Idaho.
    Kevin Dietsch | Getty Images

    A version of this article first appeared in CNBC’s Inside Wealth newsletter with Robert Frank, a weekly guide to the high-net-worth investor and consumer. Sign up to receive future editions, straight to your inbox.
    The new federal spending bill is expected to boost sales of private jets, as owners take advantage of faster write-offs of the purchase price.

    Jet brokers and advisors said they’ve seen a burst of activity from clients who were holding off on purchases until the bill was signed. Among its many new tax provisions is the reinstatement of “bonus depreciation,” which allows businesses to immediately write off 100% of the purchase price of capital equipment, including private jets.
    Individuals, who typically own a jet through their private business or holding company, can now write off the entire cost of a new or used jet in the first year of ownership for any plane placed into service in or after Jan. 19, 2025.
    The tax benefit only applies to business jets, not jets used for personal use. It revives a provision of the 2017 tax cuts and replaces the current phased-out depreciation percentages of 60% in 2024 and 40% in 2025.
    “We’ve had a number of owners who were looking to upgrade and have been waiting for this,” said Barry Shevlin, CEO of FlyUSA, the aviation solutions company. “And I have at least a half-dozen others who are looking to buy after this was passed.”

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    The tax stimulus comes at just the right time for the private jet industry, which has seen a slowdown in growth from its feverish pitch in 2020 and 2021. The industry saw a surge in new owners, charter fliers and fractional owners after Covid, but many of the wealthy who bought planes then for the first time have started selling them or moving to fractional ownership due to higher-than expected maintenance and pilot costs.

    The number of pre-owned business jets for sale increased to an average monthly rate of over 1,800 in the first half, according to JetNet. That’s up from 1,744 in the first half of 2024. The average time on market has also increased, to 418 days from 386 days, the data firm said.
    “During Covid, a lot of the people who bought planes didn’t know what they were getting into,” Shevlin said. “They were shocked by what it cost and what it involved.”
    Philip Rushton, founder and president of Aviatrade, said there are now around 23 to 25 Gulfstream G650ERs on the market, which is slightly higher than usual.
    “It’s certainly normalized after Covid,” he said.
    The big rush to buy private jets, however, may not start until the fall. Brokers said private jet purchases typically spike at the end of the year, when companies and individuals are finalizing their tax bills.
    Matt Walter, managing partner at Guardian Jet, said the ultra-wealthy won’t decide to buy a plane just because of a tax change. “But it certainly helps that decision,” he said. “If you planned to upgrade your plane in 12 months, maybe you do it in six months instead.”
    He said he’s advising clients to buy before September but sell after September, because demand will likely surge in the fall.
    “You want to buy before it gets crazy,” he said. “After September, you’re going to be competing with other buyers and also competing for inspection slots. In a heated market, everyone is going to be trying to do the same thing and trying to find inspection slots.” More

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    Athlete-backed Jams takes on peanut butter and jelly, protein craze

    Jams is rolling out frozen peanut butter and jelly sandwiches at 3,000 Walmart stores nationwide.
    Founder Connor Blakley said he hopes to take on Smucker’s Uncrustables and appeal to health-conscious consumers by offering things like more protein.
    The company aims to appeal to athletes and is backed by U.S. soccer legend Alex Morgan and NFL Pro Bowlers C.J. Stroud and Micah Parsons.

    Connor Blakley Jams founder

    The classic peanut butter and jelly sandwich is getting a modern day upgrade and backing from some top athletes.
    Jams, a new company created by 26-year-old Connor Blakley, launched Monday and hopes to take on Smucker’s Uncrustables as the next locker room and lunch box staple. Like Uncrustables, the sandwiches fall in the frozen foods category.

    Backed by names like U.S. soccer legend Alex Morgan and NFL Pro Bowlers C.J. Stroud and Micah Parsons, Jams will be available exclusively at 3,000 Walmart stores nationwide.
    Uncrustables has dominated the market with a near PB&J monopoly, but Blakley is hoping to differentiate his products by appealing to health-conscious consumers.
    “No. 1 is it’s no seed oils,” he said. “We have no dyes, no artificial flavors or colors, no high fructose corn syrup, and we have the most protein per ounce of any peanut butter and jelly that’s currently on the market.”
    Smucker’s parent company J.M. Smucker, late last month said it would remove synthetic food colors from all of its consumer food products by the end of 2027. 
    Jams is a slightly larger product than the Smuckers option, at a weight of 74 grams versus Uncrustables’ 58 grams. Blakley also said his product has a lower total sugar content, and each sandwich contains 10 grams of protein.

    Walmart also stocks Uncrustables at a $4.34 price point. Jams will cost slightly more at $5.97 per box.
    Jams will initially be available in two flavors: strawberry and a mixed berry option.
    The entrepreneur, who dropped out of high school when he was 17, said he has taste-tested more than 250 iterations of PB&J sandwiches in the process of developing Jams. The sandwiches are manufactured in Ohio and Wisconsin.
    But Blakley has a steep hill to climb.
    In its most recent earnings call in June, J.M. Smucker said it is on track to generate over a billion dollars in net sales by the end of fiscal 2026 from Uncrustables, noting that they are the No. 1 product in the the total frozen category.
    To support the rising demand, Smucker’s recently opened its third and largest Uncrustables manufacturing facility in McCalla, Alabama.
    Blakley said he believes the key market for his sandwiches will be athletes.
    NFL teams consume more than 80,000 Uncrustables per year as a growing number of teams and athletes look for a fast, convenient and filling snack, according to a 2024 report by The Athletic.
    “Athletes want to get the best possible products to fuel their body and lifestyle,” Blakley said.
    He attributed the success of the peanut butter and jelly sandwich to two things: nostalgia and ease.
    “I think convenience is really, really a big part of why this category has and will continue to take off,” he said. More

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    Alibaba-backed Moonshot releases new Kimi AI model that beats ChatGPT, Claude in coding — and it costs less

    Alibaba-backed startup Moonshot released late Friday night its Kimi K2 model as a low-cost, open source large language model, with a focus on coding capabilities.
    Moonshot claimed Kimi K2 surpassed Claude Opus 4 on two benchmarks, and had better overall performance than OpenAI’s coding-focused GPT-4.1 model, according to several industry metrics.
    Coincidentally, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced early Saturday that there would be an indefinite delay of its first open-source model yet again due to safety concerns.

    An AI sign at the MWC Shanghai tech show on June 19, 2025.
    Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images

    BEIJING — The latest Chinese generative artificial intelligence model to take on OpenAI’s ChatGPT is offering coding capabilities — at a lower price.
    Alibaba-backed startup Moonshot released on late Friday night its Kimi K2 model: a low-cost, open source large language model — the two factors that underpinned China-based DeepSeek’s industry disruption in January. Open-source technology provides source code access for free, an approach that few U.S. tech giants have taken, other than Meta and Google to some extent.

    Coincidentally, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced early Saturday that there would be an indefinite delay of its first open-source model yet again due to safety concerns. OpenAI did not immediately respond to a CNBC request for comment on Kimi K2.

    One of Kimi K2’s strengths is in writing computer code for applications, an area in which businesses see potential to reduce or replace staff with generative AI. OpenAI’s U.S. rival Anthropic focused on coding with its Claude Opus 4 model released in late May.
    In its release announcement on social media platforms X and GitHub, Moonshot claimed Kimi K2 surpassed Claude Opus 4 on two benchmarks, and had better overall performance than OpenAI’s coding-focused GPT-4.1 model, based on several industry metrics.
    “No doubt [Kimi K2 is] a globally competitive model, and it’s open sourced,” Wei Sun, principal analyst in artificial intelligence at Counterpoint, said in an email Monday.

    Cheaper option

    “On top of that, it has lower token costs, making it attractive for large-scale or budget-sensitive deployments,” she said.

    The new K2 model is available via Kimi’s app and browser interface for free unlike ChatGPT or Claude, which charge monthly subscriptions for their latest AI models.
    Kimi is also only charging 15 cents for every 1 million input tokens, and $2.50 per 1 million output tokens, according to its website. Tokens are a way of measuring data for AI model processing.
    In contrast, Claude Opus 4 charges 100 times more for input — $15 per million tokens — and 30 times more for output — $75 per million tokens. Meanwhile, for every one million tokens, GPT-4.1 charges $2 for input and $8 for output.
    Moonshot AI said on GitHub that developers can use K2 however they wish, with the only requirement that they display “Kimi K2” on the user interface if the commercial product or service has more than 100 million monthly active users, or makes the equivalent of $20 million in monthly revenue.

    Hot AI market

    Initial reviews of K2 on both English and Chinese social media have largely been positive, although there are some reports of hallucinations, a prevalent issue in generative AI, in which the models make up information.
    Still, K2 is “the first model I feel comfortable using in production since Claude 3.5 Sonnet,” Pietro Schirano, founder of startup MagicPath that offers AI tools for design, said in a post on X.
    Moonshot has open sourced some of its prior AI models. The company’s chatbot surged in popularity early last year as China’s alternative to ChatGPT, which isn’t officially available in the country. But similar chatbots from ByteDance and Tencent have since crowded the market, while tech giant Baidu has revamped its core search engine with AI tools.
    Kimi’s latest AI release comes as investors eye Chinese alternatives to U.S. tech in the global AI competition.
    Still, despite the excitement about DeepSeek, the privately-held company has yet to announce a major upgrade to its R1 and V3 model. Meanwhile, Manus AI, a Chinese startup that emerged earlier this year as another DeepSeek-type upstart, has relocated its headquarters to Singapore.
    Over in the U.S., OpenAI also has yet to reveal GPT-5.
    Work on GPT-5 may be taking up engineering resources, preventing OpenAI from progressing on its open-source model, Counterpoint’s Sun said, adding that it’s challenging to release a powerful open-source model without undermining the competitive advantage of a proprietary model.

    Grok 4 competitor

    Kimi K2 is not the company’s only recent release. Moonshot launched a Kimi research model last month and claimed it matched Google’s Gemini Deep Research ‘s 26.9 score and beat OpenAI’s version on a benchmark called “Humanity’s Last Exam.”
    The Kimi research model even got a mention last week during Elon Musk’s xAI release of Grok 4 — which scored 25.4 on its own on the “Humanity’s Last Exam” benchmark, but attained a 44.4 score when allowed to use a variety of AI tools and web search.
    “Kimi-Researcher represents a paradigm shift in agentic AI,” said Winston Ma, adjunct professor at NYU School of Law. He was referring to AI’s capability of simultaneously making several decisions on its own to complete a complex task.
    “Instead of merely generating fluent responses, it demonstrates autonomous reasoning at an expert level — the kind of complex cognitive work previously missing from LLMs,” Ma said. He is also author of “The Digital War: How China’s Tech Power Shapes the Future of AI, Blockchain and Cyberspace.”
    — CNBC’s Victoria Yeo contributed to this report. More

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    ‘Superman’ launches James Gunn’s DC cinematic universe with $122 million domestic opening

    Warner Bros.’ “Superman” generated $122 million in domestic ticket sales during its opening weekend.
    Internationally, “Superman” took in $95 million in ticket sales, bringing its estimated global opening to $217 million.
    The film is the first theatrical release from new co-heads of DC Studios James Gunn and Peter Safran.

    David Corenswet stars are Superman in Warner Bros.’ “Superman.”
    Warner Bros. Discovery

    “Superman” soared into theaters this weekend, snapping up an estimated $122 million in domestic ticket sales and launching a new era of DC superhero flicks.
    The film marks the first theatrical debut of James Gunn and Peter Safran since they became co-heads of Warner Bros. Discovery’s DC Comics film and TV unit in late 2022. The pair has developed a 10-year plan to reinvigorate the studio’s franchises across TV and film, including fresh spins on Superman and Batman.

    “The road to success for DC has been a circuitous one over the years and now under the auspices of James Gunn and Peter Safran, the impressive opening weekend performance of ‘Superman’ allows DC Studios to hit the reset and chart a new course with this film providing the spark to ignite future success for the storied brand,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore.
    The domestic haul of “Superman” ranks as the best performance of a solo-billed Superman film ever, outpacing 2013’s “Superman: Man of Steel,” which took in $116 million during its first three days in theaters, according to Comscore data.
    Only four DC films have performed better during their first three days in theaters — “Batman v. Superman” opened to $166 million, “The Dark Knight Rises” captured $160 million, “The Dark Knight” brought in $158.4 million and “The Batman” tallied $134 million.
    “Superman is fulfilling its promise as another welcome hit for the summer box office, while also serving as an effective launch pad for James Gunn’s new era of DC Studios,” said Shawn Robbins, director of analytics at Fandango and founder of Box Office Theory.
    Internationally, “Superman” generated $95 million in ticket sales, bringing its estimated global opening to $217 million.
    Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC. NBCUniversal owns Fandango. More

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    ‘Superman’ snares $22.5 million in Thursday previews on way to $140 million opening

    Warner Bros.’ “Superman” generated $22.5 million in Thursday night preview sales.
    It’s the third-best Thursday performance of superhero flick under the DC banner ever and the best for a Superman film.
    “Superman” is expected to tally between $130 million and $140 million at the box office during its full three-day opening weekend.

    David Corenswet stars are Superman in Warner Bros.’ “Superman.”
    Warner Bros. Discovery

    It’s not a bird or a plane that soared into cinemas Thursday night — it was Warner Bros.’ “Superman.”
    The first film in the new era of DC films under James Gunn and Peter Safran snared $22.5 million from preview showings.

    It’s the third-best Thursday performance for a superhero flick under the DC banner ever, just behind “The Dark Knight Rises,” which secured $30.6 million in 2012, and “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice,” which tallied $27.7 million on its first Thursday in 2016, according to data from Comscore.
    It’s also the best preview numbers for a Superman film ever. “Superman: Man of Steel” secured just $9 million in Thursday night preview tickets in 2013.
    “‘With great power comes great responsibility’ may be the mantra of Spider-Man, but Peter Safran and James Gunn have a similar charge and therefore the stakes are incredibly high for the new ‘Superman’ movie to deliver superhero style box office numbers over what will be a highly scrutinized summer movie weekend,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore.
    “Superman” is expected to tally between $130 million and $140 million at the box office during its full three-day opening weekend. “Man of Steel” generated $116 million during its opening weekend more than a decade ago.
    That range is also on par with the 2022 release of Matt Reeves’ “The Batman,” which took in $134 million. Only three DC films have performed better during their first three days in theaters — “Batman v. Superman” opened to $166 million, “The Dark Knight Rises” captured $160 million and “The Dark Knight” brought in $158.4 million.

    “Premium screens will undoubtedly be a major draw for James Gunn’s hopeful superhero spectacle, and if families turn out to introduce today’s younger generation of kids to Superman, we’ll be looking up to box office staying power through the rest of summer,” said Shawn Robbins, director of analytics at Fandango and founder of Box Office Theory.

    Rachel Brosnahan and David Corenswet star as Lois Lane and Superman in Warner Bros.’ “Superman.”
    Warner Bros. Discovery

    That would be a good sign for the new era of DC under Gunn and Safran.
    The pair took over as co-heads of Warner Bros. Discovery’s DC Comics film and TV unit in late 2022. Since taking the reins for DC Studios they have developed a 10-year plan to reinvigorate its franchises across TV and film, including fresh spins on Superman and Batman.
    Both executives have experience with the superhero genre and have brought heroes from Disney’s Marvel Cinematic Universe and DC Universe to the big and small screens, including “Guardians of the Galaxy,” “The Suicide Squad” and “Peacemaker.”
    While several television projects have already debuted on WBD’s streaming service HBO Max, “Superman” is the first theatrical project to come to fruition from Gunn and Safran.
    Critics seem on board with the reboot, as the film currently holds an 83% “Fresh” rating from more than 300 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes.
    “It’s the start of a new era for DC characters and the return of thematically hopeful stories within that canvas,” said Robbins. “Superman is the perfect archetype to usher in this reboot despite the fact that every iteration of the character has faced headwinds in meeting fan demand while simultaneously courting broader audiences. This film is no different in that regard, but it certainly represents a tonal shift from the brooding era of DC films over the previous decade-plus.”
    Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC. NBCUniversal owns Fandango and Rotten Tomatoes. More

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    Trump budget chief Vought ramps up criticism of Powell, vows investigation into Fed renovations

    Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought vowed Friday to press an investigation into renovations at the Federal Reserve building.
    “This is about the largesse and the fact that he has systemically mismanaged the Fed,” Vought told CNBC.
    The accusations represent another front in Trump’s ongoing campaign against Powell.

    Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought vowed Friday to press an investigation into renovations at the Federal Reserve building, which he called a “palace” where costs are running amok.
    In a potential escalation of President Donald Trump’s feud with Fed Chair Jerome Powell, Vought told CNBC that an investigation is warranted into whether Powell has been misleading about the $2.5 billion project.

    “When you go to the nation’s mall, you see the construction of this palace … upwards of $2.5 billion massive cost overrun, and we want to make sure we have facts as to the largesse and the extent to which it’s overrun,” Vought said during a “Squawk Box” interview. “I think it just points to the fundamental mismanagement of the Fed under the chairman.”

    The Marriner S. Eccles Federal Reserve building during a renovation in Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023.
    Valerie Plesch | Bloomberg | Getty Images

    In a letter issued Thursday, Vought charged that Powell “had grossly mismanaged the Fed” and misled Congress about the price and scope of renovations at the central bank’s headquarters in Washington, D.C.
    Vought said the Fed is over budget on the project and misled a congressional panel in June when he said some of the loftier aspects of the renovation, such as a VIP dining area and rooftop terrace gardens, are not included though they appear in specifications for the redesign.
    The accusations represent another front in Trump’s ongoing campaign against Powell. Trump has charged that the central bank leader is playing politics by not lowering interest rates, and has called on Powell to resign.
    “The problem with Chairman Powell is he has been late at every turn,” Vought said. “It’s time to lower rates. You have a problem there. But again, this is about the largesse and the fact that he has systemically mismanaged the Fed, and that is evident by what we’re seeing with regard to this monstrosity, this Palace of Versailles, on the National Mall.”

    Fed officials declined comment.

    New board members overseeing Fed project

    The renovation project is under the jurisdiction of the National Capital Planning Commission. In recent days, Trump has appointed three new members to the board, all with direct ties to the White House — Will Scharf, the new chair who also is White House staff secretary, James Blair, the White House deputy chief of staff, and Stuart Levenbach, a policy analyst at the OMB.

    Arrows pointing outwards

    Source: National Capitol Planning Commission

    Powell has said politics don’t play a part in Fed rate decisions. He and his colleagues have held the key overnight borrowing rate in place since December, though markets largely expect a cut is on the way not at the Fed’s July meeting, but in September.
    A recent Supreme Court ruling stated that presidents can’t fire Fed officials at will. However, the accusations over the building renovations could possibly help Trump build a case to dismiss Powell for cause.
    In any event, Powell’s term as chair expires in May 2026, though he can stay on as governor until 2028. Trump nominated Powell for chair during his first term, in November 2017. The Senate confirmed Powell the following February, and former President Joe Biden nominated Powell for a second term that began in 2022.
    During the CNBC interview, Vought did not directly address a question as to whether the charges regarding the building renovation are linked to Powell’s position on interest rates.
    “This certainly has to do with the fiscal mismanagement of the Fed, of which [interest rates] is one aspect of it,” he said. “We are going to zoom in over the last several days on this. We have new commissioners at the National Capital Planning Commission who are asking very tough questions.”
    While the commission oversees the specifications of the process, there are questions over whether the finances are within the OMB’s purview.
    The Federal Reserve Act allows the central bank to “maintain, enlarge or remodel” its buildings, and the Fed alone “shall have sole control over such building or buildings and the space therein.”
    The Fed is a quasi-governmental agency and receives no direct taxpayer funding. While salaries are set by Congress, the pay comes through the Fed’s self-funding mechanism, largely from interest it receives on its investments.
    Under normal circumstances, the Fed remits excess profits to the Treasury. However, in recent years, rising Treasury yields have caused the Fed to operate at a loss as it pays out more interest on its liabilities, such as bank reserves, than it earns on its long-term bond holdings.
    Trump has complained that the Fed’s refusal to cut rates is costing the government in terms of the interest it pays on the national debt.

    Construction on the Marriner S. Eccles Federal Reserve building in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, June 25, 2025.
    Al Drago | Bloomberg | Getty Images

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