Exclusive | Jerome Powell accused of lying to Congress over $2.5B 'Palace of Versailles' HQ revamp

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is being accused of lying to Congress after he denied that a $2.5 billion revamp of the central bank’s Washington headquarters will load the facility with lavish amenities — and some are demanding that he be punished, The Post has learned.Powell called The Post’s exclusive report in April about the bloated renovation project — which led Sen.Tim Scott (R-SC) to liken it to the “Palace of Versailles” during a grilling by the Senate Banking Committee last week — “misleading and inaccurate”.“There’s no VIP dining room, there’s no new marble.

There are no special elevators,” Powell insisted under questioning from the powerful panel on Wednesday.“There are no new water features, there’s no beehives, and there’s no roof terrace gardens.”But Powell — who is meanwhile facing heat from President Trump over a failure to slash interest rates — directly contradicted the project’s own planning documents, which were signed off by government pen pushers in 2021 — and which haven’t been revised since.“The private dining rooms on Level 4 (of the Fed’s Eccles building) will be restored,” reads one excerpt from the filing with the National Capital Planning Commission.

“The Governors’ private elevator will be extended to discharge at the dining suite level.”The documents also expressly mention “vegetated roof terraces” that will welcome “urban wildlife and pollinators” as well as new marble and water features.Andrew T.Levin — a professor of economics at Dartmouth College who served as an economist and advisor to the Fed’s board from 1992 to 2012 — urged Congress to step in and punish Powell for lying to lawmakers.“A top Fed official cannot be permitted to make false statements under oath at a congressional hearing.

Such statements must be promptly corrected, and in egregious cases, subject to censure by the Senate,” Levin said.Sen.Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), a majority member ...