WASHINGTON—Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell disclosed detailed information about the central bank’s $2.5-billion headquarters renovation to Senate lawmakers last summer, a previously unreported letter reviewed by the Financial Times shows—undercutting Trump Administration claims that he misled Congress.
The four-page letter, sent to the Senate Banking Committee roughly two weeks after Powell’s June 25 testimony, outlined the scope, costs, and governance of the long-running renovation project, which was first approved by the Fed’s board in 2017 and is scheduled for completion next year. The disclosure complicates accusations from President Donald Trump and senior officials, including Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought, that Powell obscured the scale of the project.
Powell is now the subject of a Justice Department criminal investigation tied to that testimony. On Sunday, he said prosecutors had asked a federal grand jury to subpoena the Federal Reserve—a step that could eventually lead to an indictment. The probe is being overseen by U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro, who has said her office sought information related to Powell’s testimony multiple times and was ignored, the Financial Times reported.
People familiar with the matter told the Financial Times that the Fed received two emails over the holiday period from a staff member in the U.S. attorney’s office, though neither message referenced a criminal investigation. The newly surfaced letter indicates Powell provided extensive follow-up responses to lawmakers’ questions after his testimony.
In the correspondence, addressed to Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott and ranking Democrat Elizabeth Warren, Powell emphasized the Fed’s commitment to transparency and accountability to Congress—language that may become central as the investigation intensifies and the political clash over the central bank’s independence deepens, the Financial Times added.