MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
President Trump just got an unusual tour. He donned a hard hat and walked through the headquarters of the Federal Reserve here in Washington. His tour guide - none other than Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, who Trump has been raging against for weeks.
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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: And he's got it wrong. That's why I call him too late - T O O, too late.
KELLY: Trump has also taken issue with an over-budget renovation of the Fed's buildings, which began during Trump's first term. NPR senior White House correspondent Tamara Keith is here with more. And Tam, this sounds like an awkward visit to a construction project today.
TAMARA KEITH, BYLINE: Yeah, it was part of a relentless pressure campaign aimed at Powell. Trump picked Powell to be fed chairman during his first term but has turned on him in a big way. However, Powell's term doesn't end until next year, and Trump would have a very hard time firing him because of legal protections meant to protect the Fed from political interference, that is, unless there's cause, like fraud. And so Trump has keyed in on this project. Today, he even interrogated Powell about it in front of cameras.
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TRUMP: Do you expect any more additional cost overruns?
JEROME POWELL: Don't expect them.
KEITH: Trump handed Powell a piece of paper he said showed the project was now up to costing $3.1 billion, which had Powell pulling out his reading glasses.
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POWELL: You just added in a third building, is what that is. That's a third building...
TRUMP: Well, I know, but it's a building that's being built.
POWELL: No, it's been - it was built five years ago.
TRUMP: Right.
POWELL: We finished Martin five years ago.
TRUMP: As part of the overall - so...
POWELL: But it's not new.
KELLY: That sounds awkward, walking right up to contentious.
KEITH: Yeah, it was, and that is not all. A reporter asked Trump, as a real estate developer, what he'd do with a project manager who was over budget.
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TRUMP: Generally speaking, what would I do? I'd fire him.
KEITH: But when asked whether this would be what he needs to fire Powell, Trump demurred. He said he wants to get the project finished. He also said it was too bad it was started. Though, I will note, it started when he was president. The Fed has explained that the project is over budget in part because of steel tariffs and inflation and the difficulties of retrofitting a historic building and even a demand from first-term Trump appointees that a planned glass wall be replaced with stone.
Trump was asked whether there was anything Powell could say to make him back off his earlier criticisms. And Trump said, well, I'd love him to lower interest rates. He said it with a smile, and then he proceeded to repeat it multiple times with the Fed chairman standing right there.
KELLY: Subtle. I will point out that the Federal Reserve Board - it's supposed to operate independently. This whole campaign from Trump and his allies - what has it meant for Fed independence?
KEITH: Yeah, and Fed independence matters because it gives confidence to the markets that the central bank will only make moves in the best interest of the economy. Trump says he wants interest rates lowered because it would make it easier for people to finance home purchases and because it would mean the government wouldn't have to spend so much money making interest payments on the substantial national debt. But neither of those reasons are part of the Fed's central mission of fighting inflation and maintaining full employment.
KELLY: So if the Fed doesn't do what Trump wants, and it does not appear poised to do so, where would you put the chances that Trump will fire or try to fire Powell?
KEITH: Well, Trump said today that it would be a big move that he doesn't think is necessary. He also said he believes the chairman is going to do the right thing, which, based on the number of times he said he wanted interest rates lowered, I don't think there's much doubt about what Trump thinks the right thing is.
KELLY: NPR's Tamara Keith at the White House, thank you.
KEITH: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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