Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought told The Gateway Pundit that the Trump administration is working on “getting to the bottom” of whether or not Jerome Powell lied to officials and Congress as Powell faces a criminal referral for perjury.
Vought spoke to reporters at the White House on Thursday after the President toured the renovation site at the Federal Reserve headquarters.
Powell is under fire for the cost of renovating the Fed’s DC headquarters. The cost ballooned from $1.9 billion to $2.5 billion, even higher when you take into account the third building that they’ve already renovated as part of the project. According to official federal reserve documents, the project will cost upwards of $3.1 billion.
He is also currently facing a criminal referral to the Justice Department from Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) for allegedly lying to Congress.
Luna says Powell lied on two occasions to both the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and in “formal correspondence” to Vought, a senior executive official.
“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 said in her letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi.
She goes on to outline the lies he told, including statements about the Federal Reserve’s luxurious new features, which are “contradicted by the actual project plans,” and untrue statements about the Fed’s Eccles Building renovation history.
“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,” she writes.
According to the referral letter, Powell’s claim that “changes were intended to simplify construction and reduce the likelihood of further delays and cost increases” is “contradicted by the Federal Reserve’s final submission to the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) and by the assertions made in Director Vought’s own original letter to Chairman Powell.”
On Thursday, when asked if he thinks Powell should be indicted for his lies, Vought told The Gateway Pundit, “we’re gonna keep getting to the bottom of the questions that we have and the statements that he’s made.”
WATCH:
The Gateway Pundit reported on a fiery exchange between Trump and Powell, when the Fed Chairman tried to argue with Trump in front of the cameras.
Powell said he does not expect additional cost overruns, but “we’re ready for them,” and “we have a little bit of a reserve that we may use.”
WATCH: Fed Chair Jerome Powell Tries to Argue with Trump when Confronted on Cost of Fed Renovation
After his visit, President Trump said on Truth Social that the project should have “never started,” and “hopefully, it will be finished ASAP.”
“Let’s just get it finished and, even more importantly, LOWER INTEREST RATES!” Trump said.
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