President Donald Trump's chief economic adviser has called on former Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to leave the Fed's Board of Governors, following an internal Fed report that identified management failures in the renovation of its headquarters.

Kevin Hassett, director of the White House National Economic Council, said during an appearance on Fox News' Sunday Morning Futures that Powell should step down from the board. When asked whether Powell ought to resign, Hassett said, "I think it's time for him to go, and it's time to respect the independence of the Federal Reserve."

The Fed's internal watchdog said in a report dated September 30 that it found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing and did not identify any "administrative misconduct" related to the $2.4 billion renovation project, but it noted that management shortcomings were part of the reason costs nearly doubled from the original budget.

Trump subsequently posted on social media that Powell "should be forced to resign from the board." Trump had repeatedly pressured Powell to cut interest rates during Powell's tenure as Fed chair.

Kevin Hassett

Powell has remained on the Fed's Board of Governors since stepping down as chair in May, breaking with the tradition that a Fed chair leaves the central bank after the end of their leadership term. Powell has said that threats of criminal investigation against him and the Fed left him with no choice but to stay on. Trump and other members of his administration have condemned that stance.

Jerome Powell

Although Trump has long urged the Fed to lower interest rates, under Chair Kevin Warsh, Fed policymakers voted unanimously last month to raise rates by 25 basis points in the face of stubbornly high inflation.

"As you can see, Chair Warsh joined others in voting for a rate hike," Hassett told Fox News. "I disagree with that decision, but we respect that he made it for the right reasons."

Trump has said Warsh should make decisions independently, though he also told Time magazine: "If I were him, I probably would have voted against the board's decision."