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Trump appointees pushed more marble in Fed building renovation White House now attacks
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has looked to the marble finishes and hefty price tag of the Federal Reserve headquarters to claim grounds to fire Chair Jerome Powell, with whom he has tussled for years over interest rates. But the extensive use of marble in the building is, at least in part, the result of policies backed by Trump himself.
As the Fed moved forward with plans to renovate its Great Depression-era headquarters in Washington during Trump’s first term, it faced concerns in 2020 during a vetting process involving Trump appointees, who called for more “white Georgia marble” for the facade of building.
The Fed’s architects said the central bank had wanted glass walls to reflect the Fed as a transparent institution, but three Trump appointees to a local commission felt marble best fit the building’s historic character. Marble was added as a result, according to the minutes of the Commission of Fine Arts, which advises the federal government on architecture.
The marble does not explain the roughly $600 million in cost overruns for the Fed headquarters and another nearby office building, now budgeted to cost $2.5 billion, which also includes the addition of an underground parking garage and new glass atria in the building’s courtyards. But the roots of its extensive use further muddies the White House’s attempts to use the renovation to paint the central banker as profligate spender as a possible pretext to removing him.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if the result costs more” because of the added marble, said Alex Krieger, a Harvard University emeritus professor who was a member of the commission and participated in hearings on the Fed’s proposal.
Russ Vought, Trump’s top budget adviser, cited “premium marble” in a letter to Powell last week as an example of the “ostentatious overhaul.”
In a response late Thursday, Powell wrote that the project would “use new domestic marble” for several reasons, including “to address concerns raised by external review agencies.”
The National Capital Planning Commission, which also reviewed and approved the Fed renovation project, has started an inquiry into how Powell oversaw the updates.
“The Federal Reserve’s extravagant multi-billion dollar renovation happened on the watch of the Fed’s leadership, and the Fed’s leadership needs to own up for this mismanagement of taxpayer dollars – as well as its botched coverup job,” said White House spokesman Kush Desai. A Fed spokesperson declined to comment.
There is an uncomfortable possibility that the fate of the U.S. central bank and its foundational role in the economy hinges on a dispute about renovation costs and architecture, one that could lead a broader legal battle as to whether Trump can dismiss a Fed chair he dislikes after the Supreme Court in May described the institution as having protections against an abrupt firing.
Trump White House investigating renovation
Trump, who has redecorated the Oval Office in gold leaf, has argued that inflation is not a concern, so the Fed can dramatically slash its rate to encourage more borrowing. But Powell and other Fed committee members are waiting to see whether Trump’s tariffs lift inflation, which higher interest rates could help blunt.
The Fed chair pushed back against criticism during a June congressional hearing that the renovation was lavish by saying some features were removed due to cost, leading the White House to speculate as to whether Powell deceived lawmakers or made changes to the renovation plans without getting additional approvals. At that hearing, Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., also cited “white marble” as an example of extravagance.
James Blair, a White House deputy chief of staff who was recently added to the planning commission, said Wednesday that he would send a letter to the Fed requesting any revisions to the project. His goal is to see whether Powell was accurate in his congressional testimony.
“He’s either telling the truth or he isn’t,” Blair told The Associated Press. “If he’s telling the truth, he can prove it by just submitting all the plans and revisions.”
Trump said Wednesday that he’s “highly unlikely” to try to fire Powell unless there was what he deemed as “fraud.”
The attempt to remove Powell before his May 2026 term as chair ends could unleash a devastating financial blowback, as financial markets expect the Fed, with its mission of stabilizing prices and maximizing employment, to be free of White House politicking. The perception that the central bank would use its powers to serve Trump’s political ends could lead to higher interest rates on the U.S. debt and mortgages, instead of the declines being promised by the president.
Trump appointees push for more marble
The 115-year old Commission of Fine Arts reviewed the plans for the renovation three times in 2020.
Duncan Stroik, who was appointed to the commission in 2019 during Trump’s first term, “proposed an amendment requesting that the next submission include an alternative design in white Georgia marble, the same material used for the five existing buildings along the north side of Constitution Avenue,” the minutes of a Jan. 16, 2020, meeting said.
Stroik “does not think the proposed additions defer to the historic buildings as great marble edifices on an important street,” the minutes added.
Stroik’s amendment was voted down, but the commission didn’t fully endorse the Fed’s plans. The architects presented new plans in May 2020, though those didn’t appear to satisfy Trump’s appointees.
Some commissioners “continued to object to the addition as a glass box that is reminiscent of a commercial office building, glowing at night, that would present an unacceptable contrast to the solid masonry architecture of the historic building in its monumental context,” the commission wrote in a May 2020 letter to a Fed official.
By July 2020, however, the Fed’s architects came back with a new proposal, which included “panels of white Georgia marble” which would be used for the “base, cornice, and other details, consistent with the historic building,” the commission’s minutes said.
Neoclassical vs. modern designs
Stroik, now a professor of architecture at the University of Notre Dame, said in an interview that “stone buildings don’t necessarily have to cost a fortune.” But he acknowledged that the commission had not discussed expenses, which has not been part of its mission.
“If they wanted to play the cost game, you do a marble facade and you do the glass facade and you compare the cost,” Stroik said. “And you know, they never did that.”
Krieger, the former commission member, noted that the body’s discussions became much more contentious after the Trump administration removed several members and replaced them with Stroik and James McCrery, a professor at Catholic University, whom he said often echoed the sentiments in a then- draft executive order from Trump that extolled classical architecture.
“At the time, it was a fierce battle over how literal to the original design should the renovations be,” Krieger said. “Normally, that attitude does add costs to the construction project.” McCrery declined to comment.
Trump issued the executive order in December 2020, which criticized modernist architecture and expressed a preference for “beautiful” classical buildings with more traditional designs. Biden revoked the order, and Trump reissued it the first day of his second term.
The commission did not fully approve the Fed’s project until September 2021, after McCrery and another Trump appointee, Justin Shubow, had been removed by then President Joe Biden.
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Associated Press writer Seung Min Kim contributed to this report.
Google I/O 2025. Samsung Galaxy Unpacked. Made By Google. All these big launch events had one thing in common — new artificial intelligence tools were the headline act.
Now, Apple has announced its next big event will take place on Tuesday, Sept. 9. Will we finally see the newer, smarter, AI-er Siri? Unfortunately, probably not. We, along with the rest of the tech world, would be shocked if it did.
It’s no secret — Apple Intelligence isn’t quite what we expected it to be, and the pressure is on Apple to add new AI-focused features to its products. That’s not to say that there aren’t some Apple Intelligence features that come in handy, but the long-awaited AI version of Siri has yet to make it to the public.
Apple’s next big event is set to be huge, and we’ll get a number of awesome new Apple devices that iPhone fans will love. So, why isn’t the AI-powered Siri ready for its primetime moment?
That’s the billion-dollar question.
Hardware versus software
Apple’s release cadence usually takes the following form: in June, Apple holds its Worldwide Developers Conference, which is its major software event for the year, and where it shows off the big new software features that will ship to customers in September. This year, Apple revealed iOS 26, and we’re eagerly awaiting the iOS 26 release date. On Sept. 9, Apple is set to debut devices, with the new iPhone being the headliner.
However, recent hardware launches from Google and Samsung have focused heavily on new AI tools.
Credit: Apple
Apple has a rocky history with AI features, especially after the company failed to ship many of the promised Apple Intelligence features that it announced at WWDC 2024. Since then, reports in the New York Times and Bloomberg have revealed that Apple is struggling to rebuild Siri with generative AI capabilities, and that the company has fallen far behind rivals like Google and OpenAI in the AI arms race.
In the meantime, Apple has turned to OpenAI and ChatGPT to power some Siri features. A recent report from Bloomberg suggests that Apple is also in talks with Anthropic and Google to help power new Apple Intelligence and Siri features. But according to all reports, AI Siri still isn’t done cooking.
Mashable Light Speed
Regardless, most of these reports point toward Apple making early business decisions, not readying a new Siri for the iPhone 17 launch. In fact, Apple forecasters don’t expect to see the revamped Siri until at least 2026 – potentially around the time of WWDC 2026.
Apple Intelligence rumors
We do expect Apple to show off plenty of new AI toys at the Apple Event 2025, and there are plenty of Apple Intelligence rumors going around.
Technically, it’s still possible that Apple will surprise everyone and announce the new, revamped Siri. But in all likelihood, we expect to hear about iterative improvements to existing Apple Intelligence features.
Credit: Apple
Notably, Apple confirmed to 9to5Mac that it plans on supporting Siri using OpenAI’s new GPT-5 large language model. This builds on existing features, though. You can already sign into your OpenAI account on your iPhone and have Siri direct certain questions to ChatGPT as needed.
Other Apple Intelligence announcements should include improved real-time language translation on AirPods and iPhones, new photo editing tools, and more advanced Genmoji options. Some of these features were already teased during WWDC 2025 and should arrive with iOS 26.
What’s coming in iOS 26?
Rumors aside, there are plenty of AI-based features that we know for a fact are coming in iOS 26, which we do expect to be released alongside the iPhone 17. We know this because Apple has announced them already. The beta version of iOS 26 has been available since June, after Apple announced all of the new operating systems at WWDC 2025.
So what new AI features are there? For starters, there’s a new feature in Visual Intelligence that allows users to ask questions about screenshots in addition to what your camera sees.
Credit: Christian de Looper
There are also new live translation features built into Messages, FaceTime, and the Phone app, which use AI to provide real-time translations in communication. And there are some features that work a little more in the background, like AI-powered reminder suggestions, order tracking within Apple Wallet that uses information from emails in your inbox, and more.
Yes, Apple will probably focus heavily on other changes to iOS, like the new Liquid Glass design language, rather than on AI-based features, but that doesn’t mean that AI won’t be a big part of the new release.
The future of Apple Intelligence
It’s very clear that Apple is indeed still working on building the all-new generative AI Siri. We’ve seen plenty of reports highlighting executive team changes at the company meant to speed up AI development. But these kinds of developments take time, and most experts think the company will finally ship major new AI features in 2026.
Disclosure: Ziff Davis, Mashable’s parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.
South Korea’s government has held an emergency meeting and vowed to swiftly respond to the arrests of hundreds of its citizens in a massive immigration raid at a Hyundai plant in the US.
Seoul has dispatched diplomats to the site in Georgia, while LG Energy Solution, which operates the plant with Hyundai, said it was suspending most business trips to the US.
US officials detained 475 people – mostly South Korean nationals – who they said were found to be illegally working at the battery facility, one of the largest foreign investment projects in the state.
The White House defended the operation, dismissing concerns that the raid could deter foreign investment.
“They were illegal aliens and ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] was just doing its job,” President Donald Trump said following the raids on Friday.
Video released by ICE officials showed Asian workers shackled in front of a building, with some wearing yellow vests with names such as “Hyundai” and “LG CNS”.
“People on short-term or recreational visas are not authorized to work in the US,” ICE said, adding that the raid was necessary to protect American jobs.
“This operation sends a clear message that those who exploit the system and undermine our workforce will be held accountable,” Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent Steven Schrank said in a statement on Saturday.
South Korea, a close US ally, has pledged tens of billions of dollars in American manufacturing investment, partly to offset tariffs.
The timing of the raid, as the two governments engage in sensitive trade talks, has raised concern in Seoul.
Trump has actively encouraged major investments from other countries while also tightening visa allocations for foreign companies.
Many of the LG employees arrested were on business trips with various visas or under a visa waiver programme, officials say.
South Korea’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Hyun said he felt a “great sense of responsibility for the arrest of our citizens” as he presided over an emergency meeting about the issue on Saturday.
He said the government had set up an Overseas Korean Protection Task Force to respond to the arrests and that he may travel to Washington if needed.
“Immediately after this incident became known, the President stressed that U.S. law enforcement actions must not unjustly infringe upon the rights of our nationals or the economic activities of our Korean-invested companies,” he said.
On Saturday, LG Energy Solution announced it was sending its Chief Human Resources Officer Kim Ki-soo to the Georgia site on Sunday.
“We are making all-out efforts to secure the swift release of detained individuals from our company and partner firms,” it said in a statement.
“We are confirming regular medications for families through an emergency contact network for detainees and plan to request that necessary medications be delivered to those detained.”
The company said it was suspending most business trips to the US and directing employees on assignment in the US to return home immediately.
South Korean media widely described the raid as a “shock,” with the Dong-A Ilbo newspaper warning it could have “a chilling effect on the activities of our businesses in the United States”.
The factory, which makes new electric vehicles, had been touted by Georgia’s Republican governor as the biggest economic development project in the state’s history, employing 1,200 people.
The arrested workers were being held at an ICE facility in Folkston, Georgia, until the agency decides where to move them next.
LG Energy Solution said 47 of its employees and about 250 workers for contractors at the joint venture factory were detained.
Hollow Knight: Silksong is currently enjoying a wide wave of enthusiasm and praise after the long-awaited indie sequel was finally released yesterday. Silksong‘s player count is already through the roof and it’s being lauded for its tight mechanics and accessible low price. However, despite this overwhelming success, there is a contingent of fans who are not happy with the game.
On Steam, Silksong is currently suffering from a deluge of negative reviews over the state of its Chinese translation, which disgruntled fans feel is worse than the original Hollow Knight and leans too heavily into archaic speech and pretentious prose. While the game currently has a “Very Positive” rating from reviews in all languages, Hollow Knight: Silksong only has a 51% “Mixed” rating in Simplified Chinese language reviews. This brings the game’s entire average down compared to review languages like English, where it has reached “Overwhelmingly Positive.”
Team Cherry Responds to the Translation Backlash
Wanting to address this situation quickly and succinctly, a representative for Team Cherry issued an apology over the translation issues with the game and promised to address it in the near future. “To our Chinese speaking fans: We appreciate you letting us know about quality issues with the current Simplified Chinese translation of Hollow Knight: Silksong,” wrote Team Cherry marketing & publishing representative Matthew Griffin wrote on X. “We’ll be working to improve the translation over the coming weeks. Thanks for your feedback and support.”
According to complaints, the equivalent of this unpopular translation in English would be like if they suddenly switched the dialogue to Old English and completely changed the tone from the previous game. The prose was compared to a “wuxia novel written by a teenager” by one user on X.
Chinese translations have been notoriously tricky to get right, especially in the Western indie space. Stardew Valley encountered trouble last year when it attempted to fix translation issues through an update patch, which sparked controversy and led to an eventual rollback. Chinese language characters rely on precise linework to be read correctly, and specific fonts can present issues for readers since characters can look similar and might have overlapping meanings depending on the context.
Those who play Western games in Chinese often complain about the quality of translations that haven’t improved much over the years, despite Chinese language customers making up a larger part of a game’s potential audience than ever before. Earlier this year, GameDiscover reported that Chinese slightly surpassed English as the primary language for Steam users for the first time in 2024, underscoring the need for better Simplified Chinese translations.
I think that, as the release of a massive game like Silksong has shown, translation issues will start having more outsized effects on user and review scores, forcing developers to put more effort into outputting better games in the future. No longer is having a bad translation a niche issue, since the majority of users on a platform like Steam, according to the data, have their primary language set to one other than English. This issue seems to be on the platform’s mind, as recently, Steam changed the way review scores are displayed to reflect the “vastly different experiences” that users were having in different languages for the same game.
What are your thoughts on the reviews of Silksong over the unpopular Simplified Chinese translation? Is the reaction justified, and does Silksong deserve a lower overall review score because of this misstep?
Editor’s note: The title of the article was updated as “review bombed” was not appropriately accurate.
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