Trump Official Buries CNN’s Kaitlan Collins With Fed Spending Facts [WATCH]

President Donald Trump visited the Federal Reserve Building on Thursday to review the ongoing renovation project, which has drawn scrutiny due to a significant cost overrun, as reported by The Gateway Pundit.

During the tour, Trump publicly confronted Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell over the ballooning price tag, which has grown from $1.9 billion to over $3.1 billion.

“The 2.7 is now 3.1 [billion],” President Trump said during the televised visit, referring to the latest budget figures. Powell responded by saying, “I’m not aware of that,” prompting Trump to pull out documents showing the new cost projections.

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Powell tried to justify the numbers, suggesting the difference included additional buildings that were part of the broader project. “We’re ready for [additional overruns],” Powell admitted. “We have a little bit of a reserve that we may use. We expect to be finished in 2027.”

Outside the building, reporters continued questioning the renovation costs. CNN’s Kaitlan Collins pressed Trump’s financial officials on the validity of the numbers.

After Jay Powell contradicted President Trump on the cost of the Federal Reserve renovations, I asked Trump’s budget chief and deputy chief of staff about the numbers: pic.twitter.com/PU2DQpdQL0

— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) July 25, 2025

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In response, former Office of Management and Budget (OMB) General Counsel Mark Paoletta provided documentation confirming that Trump’s figures were accurate.

“President Trump is 100% correct in the numbers he used on his tour of the Federal Reserve (FRB) site yesterday,” Paoletta stated.

“FRB documents show FRB 2022 Budget adopted in November 2021 was $1.4 billion for the Eccles and 1951 Building portion of the FRB HQ project, and a total budget for all three buildings comprising the FRB HQ (including the Martin Building) of $1.8 billion.”

Paoletta continued, “FRB 2025 Budget shows costs for Eccles and 1951 are now $2.5 billion – a more than $1 billion cost overrun for the current project (all incurred after Trump 45) – bringing the total cost of the Fed’s HQ renovation for all three buildings to $3.1 billion.”

He emphasized that the cost increases occurred after Trump left office and that the President’s visit was intended to push for the project to be completed on time and within budget.

“President Trump visited the FRB to try to encourage Jerome Powell to finish this job without any more cost overruns and to get it done quickly,” Paoletta said.

President Trump is 100% correct in the numbers he used on his tour of Federal Reserve (FRB) site yesterday.

FRB documents show FRB 2022 Budget (below) adopted in November 2021 was $1.4 Billion for the Eccles & 1951 Building portion of the FRB HQ project and a total budget for… https://t.co/54IzoACGhl pic.twitter.com/yRZ8iGWBAV

— Mark Paoletta (@MarkPaoletta) July 25, 2025

Despite Powell’s public denial, the official Federal Reserve budget documents back Trump’s claim of the $1.5 billion overrun. The internal data contradicts Powell’s remarks during the visit.

The White House has not issued further comments regarding Powell’s status or future.

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