Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought last week aimed to tamp down speculation that controversy over a $2.5 billion Federal Reserve renovation may be a Trojan horse for the Trump administration’s attempt to remove central bank Chair Jerome Powell for cause.

“[It’s] not a metaphysical debate about the Fed and its independence,” he said. “It’s just a building that is being built really badly and leading to massive cost overruns.” 

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is taking another tack.

“What we need to do is examine the entire Federal Reserve institution and whether they have been successful,” Bessent told CNBC on Monday. “Has the organization succeeded in its mission? If this were the [Federal Aviation Administration] and we were having this many mistakes, we would go back and look at why has this happened.”

To be clear, Bessent did not cite the renovation specifically as a mistake. That’s left open to interpretation.

The Fed, however, has not reduced interest rates since December – much to the chagrin of President Donald Trump, who arguably has made a sport of hounding Powell for keeping rates steady.

The tone of Bessent’s comments may seem at odds with reporting Saturday by The Wall Street Journal – which painted the treasury secretary as a relative voice of reason after Trump allegedly privately floated, then publicly denied, the prospect of firing Powell.

Bessent reportedly told Trump that firing Powell was unnecessary because the economy is doing well and markets have responded positively to the president’s policies, a person familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal. Bessent also allegedly reminded Trump that Fed officials have indicated they could cut rates twice before the end of 2025, the outlet reported. 

But between Saturday and Monday, Trump posted a barrage of content to Truth Social – not least of which was a rail against the Journal’s report.

“The Wall Street Journal ran a typically untruthful story today by saying that Secretary of the Treasury, Scott Bessent, explained to me that firing Jerome ‘Too Late’ Powell, the Worst Federal Reserve Chairman in History, would be bad for the Market,” Trump posted Sunday. “Nobody had to explain that to me. I know better than anybody what’s good for the Market, and what’s good for the U.S.A.”

That wouldn’t be the first Wall Street Journal story to have incited Trump’s animus last week. The president sued media mogul Rupert Murdoch on Friday, seeking $10 billion in damages after Murdoch’s News Corp, which owns the Journal, published a story alleging Trump sent now-late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein a “bawdy” letter for the financier’s 50th birthday.

Bessent on Monday appeared to downplay his alleged role in helping cooler heads prevail over Powell’s future employment at the Fed.

“President Trump solicits a whole range of opinions and then makes a decision,” Bessent said of the Saturday report.

Bessent did, however, assert that the Fed probably should cut rates, as inflation is seen tapering off.

“They were fear mongering over tariffs, and thus far we have seen very little if any inflation,” Bessent told CNBC.

“We’ve had great inflation numbers,” he added, citing what he saw as a reluctance by the Fed to “break out of a certain mindset.”

“All these Ph.D.s over there, I don’t know what they do,” he told the network.

Bessent last week equated Trump’s testing the waters with regard to firing Powell as “working the refs,” akin to a coach, during a game, attempting to gain a window into a referee’s thinking. 

The U.S. dollar fell 1.2% against several of its peers Wednesday after reports surfaced that Trump showed roughly a dozen Republican lawmakers a draft of a letter firing Powell.

In Trump’s favor is the chance for the president to nominate two Fed governors in the next 10 months. Fed Gov. Adriana Kugler’s term ends in January, and Powell’s term as chair ends in May.

Bessent, according to the Journal, reminded Trump that if he fired Powell before May, the Fed chair could sue, and the legal action could drag on until spring.

Meanwhile, if Powell were to be fired, Fed Vice Chair Philip Jefferson, a Biden nominee, would become acting chair.

There’s no guarantee, either, that a Trump nominee for Fed chief would have an easy road to confirmation. At least three Republicans on the Senate Banking Committee have said they don’t think the Fed chair can or should be dismissed, according to the Journal.

“I think the markets want an independent Federal Reserve,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-SD, told Fox News last week.

Trump on Sunday continued to push against the idea that he needs reminders.

“If it weren’t for me, the Market wouldn’t be at Record Highs right now, it probably would have CRASHED!” Trump posted Sunday. “People don’t explain to me, I explain to them!”