GOP Rep. Luna referring Jerome Powell for criminal charges related to Fed renovation

Republican Florida Rep. Anna Paulina Luna announced Thursday on X that she is officially referring Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate alleged perjury related to its over $2 billion headquarters renovation project.

In September 2021, the National Capital Planning Commission approved the Fed’s design for its new headquarters renovation project, racking up its cost to a total of about $2.5 billion. Luna took to X to announce her decision on referring Powell to the DOJ, calling the new building “crazy.”

“I am criminally referring Jerome Powell to the DOJ to investigate perjury regarding his crazy $2.5BN building,” Luna wrote.

Questions regarding Powell’s headquarter’s renovation began to spark up in July after Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte called on Congress to investigate Powell, alleging that Powell’s testimony to the Senate had been “deceptive,” according to the New York Post.

Shortly after Pulte’s statement, President Donald Trump had taken to Truth Social, reposting a Bloomberg article on the allegations and calling for Powell to step down.

“‘Too Late’ should resign immediately!!!” Trump wrote.

The Board of Governors first approved the Fed’s headquarters renovation in 2017, with it being “subject to annual budget approval by the Board since then,” the Fed’s site states. According to the central bank, the Board’s independent Office of Inspector General (OIG) has had “full access to the project information on costs, contracts, schedules, and expenditures and receives monthly reports on the construction program.”

However, since its initial approval, the project’s total has jumped an estimated $700 million — rising from roughly $1.9 billion to $2.5 billion. The Fed, according to The Washington Post, attributed the added costs to the pandemic driving up prices for steel, cement, and other materials, with some of the work also being underground and contributing to the cost increase.

Trump officials have claimed that VIP dining rooms and elevators were included in the project, though Powell has denied such allegations, The Post reported.

With Trump calling for him to step down, Powell on Monday requested a review of the project, asking Fed IG Michael Horowitz to investigate the costs and any other matters deemed appropriate, according to Axios.

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