Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought ratcheted up pressure on Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Thursday, accusing him of having “grossly mismanaged” the central bank.

Vought sent a letter to Powell probing him with questions over the renovation of the Fed’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. The letter said that President Donald Trump is “extremely troubled” by his management of the Fed and called the overhaul of the headquarters “ostentatious.”

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“Now up to $2.5 billion, roughly $700 million over its initial cost,” Vought said on social media. “These renovations include terrace rooftop gardens, water features, VIP elevators, and premium marble. The cost per square foot is $1,923 — double the cost for renovating an ordinary historic federal building. The Palace of Versailles would have cost $3 billion in today’s dollars!”

The letter and accompanying post on X is the latest salvo in the Trump administration’s war against Powell, who was originally appointed by Trump, but has since faced immense pressure from the president over his handling of monetary policy and interest rates.

In late May, Trump summoned Powell to the White House, where Trump pushed for lower rates in a meeting attended by several administration officials, including Vice President JD Vance, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

Trump has also berated Powell to the press and on social media. He has lashed Powell for not cutting interest rates sooner, despite inflation still being above the central bank’s 2% target. Trump has also nicknamed the Fed chairman “Too Late Powell.”

It is a legal gray area whether Trump has the ability to fire Powell, but it is clear that the president is angry about Powell’s handling of the Fed and wants him gone.

“He should resign immediately,” Trump said this week.

Other Trump administration officials, such as Bill Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, have also encouraged the Fed to lower interest rates.

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The Fed has traditionally been independent and insulated from partisan politics.

The central bank has to deal with the political pressure to cut rates on top of analyzing the current economic data to determine the best course of action.