Lots of news today.
Federal Reserve IG Michael Horowitz (yes, him) just issued his findings related to the renovations of two fed buildings. This was the basis for a criminal inquiry into Fed Chairman Jerome Powell earlier this year; the matter has since been dropped after Jeb Boasberg quashed subpoenas related to the investigation.
The report details an astonishing lack of oversight by the very same people in charge of our economy. While Horowitz did not find evidence of criminal wrongdoing (SHOCKER!), his office did find significant failures by the Fed Board in handling the $2.3 billion project--more than $1 billion past initial estimates.
Horowitz: "The Board also did not implement a sufficient governance structure commensurate with the risks associated with managing a complex, extended-duration construction project. We found that the project’s governance did not establish and monitor key budget and schedule success measures or benchmarks, provide clear roles and responsibilities to internal oversight entities for overseeing the project’s cost and budget, or identify clear protocols for escalating to senior Board officials potential awards of price packages that significantly exceeded cost estimates— some by more than $100 million—or hindered the project’s ability to stay within initial budget estimates."
More:
"We were concerned to find that the Board did not obtain a project cost estimate from the [construction manager] until January 2026, which was 3.5 years after construction began and after the Board had awarded more than $2 billion in construction costs. As of July 2026, more than 4 years after construction began and $2 billion has been awarded for construction, the Board had yet to set a [guaranteed maximum price]. The Board therefore still does not have cost certainty and has not transferred material risk to the [construction manager]."
THESE PEOPLE RUN A $32 TRILLION NATIONAL ECONOMY.