WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has asked an inspector general to review the cost of the central bank’s building renovations that White House officials have attacked as “ostentatious.”

President Trump could possibly fire Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell over questions about the renovation of Fed facilities, National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett said Sunday. Why it matters: The administration's relentless efforts to get Powell to either cut interest rates or leave have called the future independence of the central bank into question.

It comes after Russell Vought, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, sent a letter to Powell last week asking for answers about the $2.5 billion renovation of the Washington building. Vought said the Fed may have moved ahead with the project without getting approval from the National Capital Planning (NCPC).