Instead of firing then-Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell during his second term, Trump reportedly decided to make the central banker’s tenure more difficult. As part of his plans, Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought presented Trump with a plan to target Jerome over renovations to the Federal Reserve building.
During a July 2025 staff meeting, he reportedly said he wanted to “bust [Jerome’s] f—— b—-, honestly.”
“What about that f—— building? Can we stop it? Can we stop construction? I just want to bust his f—— b—-. F— him,” he continued, per Haberman and Swan.
While Vought said he “would look into” whether they could stop the construction, Trump allegedly replied, “No, don’t look into it. Bring me a plan.”
OMB General Counsel Mark Paoletta devised a plan to place Trump allies on the National Capital Planning Commission, which oversees construction in the Washington area. Trump then appointed then-Deputy Chief of Staff James Blair, who later enlisted Will Scharf, to the board.
From there, Scharf called for a full review of the Federal Reserve renovation project.