The central bank opted for its first pause after three rate cuts last year, as officials wait for clearer signs that inflation is cooling.
Fed holds rates steady, signaling patience despite Trump pressure www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
— (@therreport.bsky.social) 2026-01-28T19:06:25.277Z
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2026/01/28/fed-pauses-rate-cuts/
The Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged Wednesday, hitting the pause button at its first meeting this year despite pressure from President Donald Trump to slash rates further.
The widely expected decision comes after the central bank cut rates three times at the end of 2025, moves that officials and economists say were aimed at insulating the labor market as hiring slowed. With job growth still decelerating but the economy showing few signs of distress, policymakers now say they can afford to be patient as they watch whether inflation continues to cool.
Fed governor Christopher Waller, who is under consideration to replace Jerome H. Powell as Fed chair, dissented from the decision, preferring to lower rates again. He was joined by Stephen Miran, a Trump economic adviser on leave from the White House who is also on the Fed board.....
The Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged Wednesday, hitting the pause button at its first meeting this year despite pressure from President Donald Trump to slash rates further.
The widely expected decision comes after the central bank cut rates three times at the end of 2025, moves that officials and economists say were aimed at insulating the labor market as hiring slowed. With job growth still decelerating but the economy showing few signs of distress, policymakers now say they can afford to be patient as they watch whether inflation continues to cool....
A separate high-profile dispute involving the president’s attempted firing of Fed governor Lisa Cook has added to the political pressure against the Fed, though the case has played to the Fed’s advantage, at least so far. During Supreme Court arguments last week, nearly all of the justices signaled skepticism that Trump could remove Cook while her legal challenge proceeds, suggesting that the Fed governor is likely to remain on the board for now — a development that would limit the president’s leverage over the central bank in the near term.
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