Trump produced a sheet of paper apparently listing construction costs and was told curtly he was including work on the William McChesney Martin Jr Building which was not part of the project.

But this week, Trump has toned down his threats to fire Powell. When calling him a “numbskull” who had “done a bad job” earlier this week, Trump said he would be out in eight months. That, however, would still be a couple of months out from the end of his term in May 2026. It was unclear why Trump picked that time frame.

Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell said Donald Trump had factored in the cost of a previously completed project after the US president claimed there had been a cost blowout in the renovation of the central bank’s headquarters. Source: AAP, AP / Julia Demaree Nikhinson

And after the visit, Trump said he did not intend to fire Powell.

Trump has criticised Powell for months over his insistence on keeping the short-term interest rate at 4.3 per cent this year, after cutting it three times last year, when Biden was in office.