Powell, who was appointed as Fed Chair by Trump in 2018, said in a video statement on Sunday that the Fed has “made every effort to keep Congress informed about the renovation project,” which Fed staffers have previously reportedly said came at such a high cost due to tariffs and inflation. Instead, Powell said, the Trump Administration has used the renovations as a pretext to exert more political pressure on the independent central bank. Powell said the Justice Department had served the Fed with grand jury subpoenas.