The Federal Reserve responds to the White House "accusations": the cost increase of the building renovation partly reflects unforeseen construction conditions.

According to Nick Timiraos's article in the "Fed Whisperer", White House advisors increased pressure on Fed Chairman Powell on Thursday, accusing him of either lying to Congress about the renovation of the Fed headquarters or seriously mismanaging the Fed headquarters, which could create a new legal pathway for his removal. On Friday night, the Fed released a series of responses on its website, aiming to address questions raised by Waters and other inflammatory remarks about the project and Powell's testimony in recent weeks. The Fed stated that the cost increases partly reflect unforeseen construction conditions, such as more asbestos than expected, toxic contamination in the soil, and groundwater levels higher than expected.