Does the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC)—a seemingly innocuous planning wing established in 1927 historically supported by architects, urban designers, and policy wonks—have enough political sway to help sack the chairman of an independent federal body that manages our country’s monetary policy?
The Marriner S. Eccles Building, completed in 1937 by Paul Philippe Cret to house the Federal Reserve Board (FRB), and the adjacent FRB-E Building are undergoing renovations by CallisonRTKL (now part of Arcadis) and Quinn Evans Architects.
These stripped classicist structures are in the middle of a power struggle between NCPC members appointed by President Donald Trump, the Commission of Fine Arts (CFA), and Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell, Politico reported this week.
On July 9, Trump appointed new NCPC members—James Blair, Russell Vought, William Scharf, and Stuart Levenbach. Per a NCPC press release, the group convened on July 10 for its first meeting.
Trump appointees in the NCPC and CFA are now pointing fingers at Powell over cost overruns in the $2.5 billion project, and using that as an excuse to potentially oust him. Powell, who was appointed by Trump himself during the president’s first term, opposes the White House’s tariff war on China and Trump’s demand to lower interest rates. Now Trump appointees are trying to run him out of town.
Unilaterally firing a chairman of an independent federal body would be an optics nightmare. So, rather, it appears the Trump administration is peer pressuring Powell into resigning.
AN reported on the Federal Reserve’s modernization plans in 2020. The overhaul was approved by the NCPC in 2021, and construction started in 2022, when white fencing went up around the building perimeter. Renovation costs have risen since then from $1.9 billion to $2.5 billion.
The renovation infills open spaces east and west of the Eccles Building, creating handsome new 5-story glass additions that will feature prominently on Constitution Avenue. Plans also call for a new 5-story rear addition at the FRB-E Building, which will be less visible.
Trump appointees have criticized the project. The NCPC’s James Blair accused Powell of building the “Taj Mahal on the National Mall,” and Republican Senator Tim Scott likened the upgraded Federal Reserve building to the “Palace of Versailles.” The National Economic Council’s Kevin Hassett said the overhaul is the “most expensive project in D.C. history.”
The FRB and Powell refuted misinformation about the project in a summary issued just yesterday. The FAQ summary detailed the FRB’s engagement with the NCPC in regard to the Federal Reserve renovation project.
The NCPC has 12 total members and consults with architects, urban planners, and policy experts. Members of NCPC come from the Department of Defense, Department of the Interior, the General Services Administration, and other key agencies. The mayor of Washington, D.C. has a seat.
The commission meets regularly “to adopt, approve, or provide advice on plans and projects” in the national capital region. It has approval authority over the location, height, bulk, number of stories, and size of buildings.
Trump’s appointments came as Democrats were working behind the scenes to reduce the NCPC’s power.
On June 30, Democratic Congressmember Eleanor Holmes Norton introduced legislation that would “remove the authority of the NCPC, a federal agency, to review or approve the development of District of Columbia-owned real property,” the bill states.
Norton’s proposal would also “remove the requirement that the D.C. Mayor get NCPC’s approval before selling D.C.-owned real property and allow D.C. agencies to transfer jurisdiction over D.C.-owned real property among themselves without NCPC’s approval.”
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