Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell in a Thursday letter countered criticisms leveled at the central bank by a top White House official over a $2.5 billion renovation project. “We take seriously the responsibility to be good stewards of public resources as we fulfill the duties given to us by Congress on behalf of the American people,

We have taken great care to ensure the project is carefully overseen since it was first approved by the Board in 2017,” the Federal Reserve chairman said.