Rubbish Check
Fox Business · October 1, 2026
source“LARRY KUDLOW: Now is the time for Jay Powell to resign”
R5/ 10
Selective
Rubbish Rating — 1 = base fact, 10 = pure rubbish
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In short
Rubbish Talk rates Kudlow's Fox Business opinion column calling for Powell to resign a 5/10 because the piece accurately quotes a Wall Street Journal editorial and an IG report on Fed renovation cost overruns, but builds its resignation case by downplaying that the same IG report explicitly cleared Powell of misconduct, and pads the argument with unrelated political grievances.
The Verdict
Selective. The headline is honest in one sense, it's clearly labeled opinion and the WSJ quote cited really does call for Powell to step down, but the column constructs its case by leaning on Trump's unsubstantiated cost estimates and folding in unrelated grievances (DEI, inflation, gas prices) while the IG's actual exoneration of Powell on misconduct gets one sentence of acknowledgment buried mid-piece rather than framing the headline.
What actually happened
Kudlow's column is an opinion piece amplifying a Wall Street Journal editorial that argued Powell should resign now that an inspector-general probe into the Fed's headquarters renovation found mismanagement but no criminality. The article directly quotes the IG report and the WSJ editorial, plus extended remarks from President Trump criticizing Powell and the renovation.
Key facts
- The article quotes the IG report describing the renovation as "a long and expensive comedy of errors" with budget and schedule overruns.
- Per the quoted WSJ material in the article, the project was budgeted for $1.3 billion, with the current cost estimate ballooned to $2.4 billion and running three years behind schedule.
- The article itself quotes the IG's central finding that investigators "did not identify administrative misconduct during our evaluation," meaning Powell was cleared of wrongdoing, not merely unindicted.
- Trump's cost claims ("I think I could have done it for $25 million") are personal assertions in the piece with no supporting estimate, budget, or contractor quote attached.
- The resignation case is broadened beyond the renovation to include unrelated claims about DEI, climate policy, a "$7 trillion" spending figure, and California gas prices, none of which the IG report addresses.
What to watch for
- Whether the WSJ editorial itself frames "no criminality" as exculpatory or merely procedural, since Kudlow's column uses it mainly as a green light for resignation.
- Watch for whether Fox, the WSJ, or other outlets follow up with the full IG report's findings on who specifically approved the design changes, since the piece attributes blame broadly to "macroeconomists" rather than named officials.
- Watch whether Powell actually resigns or serves out his term, which would be the clearest test of whether this "time to resign" framing reflected real pressure or was column-only advocacy.
About this scoreThe R-Score is Rubbish Talk's editorial opinion on how far a headline's framing sits from what the underlying facts support. It is a judgement about presentation and emphasis, not an allegation that any outlet has acted dishonestly. Every figure we rely on is linked under Receipts so you can check it yourself.
