Donald Trump is set to visit the US Federal Reserve building on Thursday to inspect its recent $2.5 billion structural renovation, amid an intensifying White House pressure campaign on Fed Chair Jerome Powell. Trump has been publicly urging Powell to slash interest rates by three points from the current level of 4.5%, and recently accused the Fed of mismanaging the renovation project — just days after briefly threatening to fire Powell. This marks only the fourth time in history that a sitting president has visited the central bank, which is meant to operate independently to ensure its decisions are driven by economic data, not political influence.
