It was formed to protect American consumers, but the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s new headquarters is taking taxpayers for a ride, according to a new report this week from the Federal Reserve’s inspector general.
The newly renovated headquarters will now cost at least $215.8 million, of which $145.1 million is for actual renovations and the rest goes to costs of moving, renting “swing space” and other similar expenses.
Congressional Republicans, in a statement releasing the report, put that in context: “It also equals more than $590 per square foot being renovated at the CFPB’s rented headquarters. That means the CFPB is spending much more per square foot than it cost to build the Trump World Tower ($334/square foot), the Bellagio Hotel and Casino ($330/square foot) and the Burj Khalifa in Dubai ($450/square foot).”
Republicans said the renovations will include a two-story waterfall and a four-story glass staircase.
Just two years ago, the CFPB published a cost of $55 million for its headquarters.
The inspector general said that because of missing documentation, the CFPB cannot make “a sound business case” for the renovations.
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