The White House has seized on a formal pretext to push former Fed Сhair Jerome Powell out of the Federal Reserve’s board. US President Donald Trump’s top economic adviser, Kevin Hassett, urged Powell to step down in an interview on Fox News.

Officials cite an inflated construction bill: an internal review found that management failures roughly doubled the cost of renovating the Fed’s Washington headquarters to about $2.4 billion. Inspectors said they found no criminal or administrative violations in the project, but the political fallout was swift — Trump wrote on social media that Powell should be forced out.

US Attorney General Todd Blanche declined to open a criminal probe but said he would act if a fresh independent audit uncovers wrongdoing.

Behind the public dispute lies a breach of unwritten norms. Powell refused to leave the Fed after his chairmanship ended in May, citing threats of legal action. The White House condemned that decision.

The row comes as the new Fed chair continues to frustrate the president. Last month, Kevin Warsh voted with colleagues to raise the policy rate by 25 basis points, defying White House calls for lower borrowing costs. Hassett said he disagreed with Warsh’s decision but stressed he respected the Fed chair’s independence.