US President Donald Trump has spent months attacking the head of the US central bank on social media and in remarks to reporters, calling Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell names like "numbskull".
On Thursday, the dispute played out in person, with cameras rolling, as the two men clashed over the cost of building renovations.
The tense moment came as Trump escalated his pressure on Powell, who Trump said was moving too slowly to cut interest rates.
He has repeatedly floated the possibility of firing Powell, only to quickly disavow the idea, which analysts say would rock financial markets and spark a legal battle.
Trump's visit to the Federal Reserve is the first by a sitting president in roughly two decades.
It comes ahead of the Fed's meeting in Washington next week, where policymakers are widely expected to vote to leave interest rates unchanged.
At the start of his tour, Trump said that the administration was "looking at what's happening" at the Fed's $2.7bn (£1.8bn) renovation.
"It looks like it's about $3.1bn," Trump said, as Powell shook his head.
"I'm not aware of that," Powell shot back. "I haven't heard that from anybody at the Fed."
Trump then produced a document from his jacket pocket, which Powell briefly read and brusquely handed back to the president, saying that Trump was "adding a third building" to the total.
"It's a building that's been built," Trump said.
Powell responded: "It's a building that was built five years ago... it's not new."
Trump was also asked by a reporter what he, as a real estate developer, would do with a project manager who was over budget.
"Generally speaking, I'd fire him," he responded.
After he visited the Federal Reserve, Trump wrote on social media that construction has "got a long way to go, would have been much better if it were never started, but it is what it is".
He said, "The cost overruns are substantial," but the US "can afford just about anything".
"Let's just get it finished and, even more importantly, LOWER INTEREST RATES!", Trump said.
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