- RAWSTORY.COM - Raw Story - 02/Jul 21:42

'Malfeasance!' Trump official demands Congress investigate Jerome Powell

President Donald Trump's head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency wants to see Congress investigate Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, claiming he "lied" in his comments about upgrades to the central bank's headquarters. Bill Pulte alleged that when Powell testified to Congress last week, he said that the 100-year-old headquarters of the central bank needed "serious renovation," Politico reported Wednesday. Pulte called it "deceptive Senate testimony, which is enough to be removed 'for cause,'" in a statement posted on X.Already painting it as a "scandal," Pulte said Powell "lied when asked about the specifics before Congress. This is nothing short of malfeasance..."The allegations come from Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), claiming Powell "made a number of factually inaccurate statements to the Committee regarding the Fed's plush private dining room and elevator, skylights, water features, and roof terrace." She alleged this is typical of Powell, who has a kind of "mismanagement" style akin to "don't bother me." “There’s no VIP dining room, there’s no new marble. There are no special elevators,” Powell told the Senate last week. “There are no new water features, there’s no beehives, and there’s no roof terrace gardens."Renovations approved in 2021 included restoring "private dining rooms on Level 4 (of the Fed's Eccles building)." The dining rooms aren't just for Powell, the Federal Reserve renovation documents say. There is a private elevator, but it isn't for only Powell's use; rather, it's for all of the governors, similar to the elevator in the U.S. Capitol for members only. No press is allowed in those elevators, so members have been known to duck into them to escape media questions, the Huffington Post described in one interaction.Renovations in the dining room appear to be to make it handicapped accessible, a filing with the National Capital Planning Commission showed."The historically significant Level 4 lounge and adjoining executive dining rooms currently have an eighteen-inch level change between the entry hall and the lounge suite. The proposed project will extend the elevated floor slab to the north, relocate the existing marble stairs and provide a new accessible ramp along the east side of the entry hall up to the level of the lounge suite. Additionally, the Governors’ private elevator will be extended to discharge at the dining suite level. Special care will be taken to sensitively modify historic wall and floor finishes in new elevated areas. The proposed design includes the removal of some of the upper portion of wood wall panels in the lounge. Removed panels will be salvaged and stored," it says. Politico took issue with Powell's claim, "there's no roof terrace gardens" comment, calling it "debatable." The report cited the planned “two pairs of vegetated roof spaces” as conflicting with Powell. "The landscape includes a set-back from Constitution Avenue, raised landscape and building terraces, a formal walkway and stairs axially aligned on the building entrance," the renovation lists. One of the terraces is being removed to make room for a parking garage, it says on page 50. "In addition to the existing terrace, the marble steps and landing, and granite steps to the east and west of the terrace will be removed. The terrace and areaways will be rebuilt in the same location. Where possible, the existing stone will be salvaged and stored during construction," the project details. One section details the landscaping, and all other federal buildings have budgets for landscaping, including the Senate buildings. They refer at one point to the landscaping as a "symmetrical layout with geometrically ordered gardens on each side of a central walk" at the main entry of the building. The "fountains" similarly aren't for Powell's own use; rather, the building has had the fountains for several decades, including the fountain designed in 1977 by George E. Patton, explained the Cultural Landscape Foundation. The plans also outline restoration work on the metal and stone around the foundations that have been on the site since the 1930s. President Donald Trump has taken aim at Powell in the past several years for remaining politically neutral and refusing to cave to his demands. Trump broke ground outside the White House on a new ballroom, saying he's wanted to build for some time. Amid the pandemic in 2020, the Trumps unveiled their White House tennis pavilion. Trump also "renovated" the Jacqueline Kennedy Rose Garden in 2020 for the Republican National Convention. They began paving it over at the start of June.