U.S. President Donald Trump has the authority to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for cause if evidence supports that, White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said on Sunday, adding that the Fed "has a lot to answer for" on renovation cost overruns at its Washington headquarters.

A key Trump official said Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has “grossly mismanaged” the institution and demanded more information about the central bank’s renovation of its headquarters in Washington.

The investigation into cost overruns on a renovation of Fed headquarters is drawing concern that it's a pretext to eventually fire the central bank chief.