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US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaks during a press conference in Washington, DC, on October 29, 2025.
"Working families are paying the price" for the president's "reckless" policies, said Groundwork Collaborative's Alex Jacquez.
As Americans face tariff-related price hikes, surging health insurance premiums, and fallout from the government shutdown, from missed paychecks to no food assistance, the Federal Reserve on Wednesday announced its second interest rate cut of the year.
"Job gains have slowed this year, and the unemployment rate has edged up but remained low through August," the US central bank said in a statement about the Federal Open Market Committee cutting the benchmark interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 3.75-4%, its lowest level in three years. "Inflation has moved up since earlier in the year and remains somewhat elevated."
When the Fed slashed the federal funds rate last month, economist Alex Jacquez warned that it would "do little to address" the "economic turmoil" created by President Donald Trump. On Wednesday, the former Obama administration official, who is now chief of policy and advocacy at the think tank Groundwork Collaborative, again took aim at the US leader.
"The Fed's decision only confirms what Americans already know—the economy is slowing, job growth has stalled, prices keep climbing, and consumers are pulling back because they're out of options," Jacquez said in a statement. "Trump's reckless economic agenda is pushing our economy to the brink, and working families are paying the price."
US House Budget Committee Ranking Member Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.) similarly said in a Wednesday statement that "today's rate cut is yet another warning sign about the sorry state of Donald Trump's economy."
"Nearly half of all states are now in or near recession, inflation is climbing, and the labor market is losing strength," Boyle noted. "This is all a direct result of Trump's reckless tariff taxes and his chaotic economic agenda."
"At the same time, working families are facing the largest spike in health insurance premiums in our nation's history," he stressed. "I'll keep fighting to lower costs, protect affordable healthcare, and make sure every American has access to a good-paying job.”
Rohit Chopra, who directed the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau during the Biden administration, before Trump gutted the agency, was also critical of the Republican president on Wednesday.
"While he is not in the room to vote on Fed interest rates, President Trump's shadow looms large over the Federal Reserve and many members seem eager to please him," Chopra said. "While Gov. Lisa Cook is fighting back, markets seem to understand that the Fed's decision-making will be heavily shaped by the whims of the White House."
Trump is trying to oust Cook from the Fed's Board of Governors, which her lawyers call "unprecedented and illegal." The US Supreme Court is set to hear arguments in her case in January; in the meantime, earlier this month, the justices allowed her to remain in her post.
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
As Americans face tariff-related price hikes, surging health insurance premiums, and fallout from the government shutdown, from missed paychecks to no food assistance, the Federal Reserve on Wednesday announced its second interest rate cut of the year.
"Job gains have slowed this year, and the unemployment rate has edged up but remained low through August," the US central bank said in a statement about the Federal Open Market Committee cutting the benchmark interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 3.75-4%, its lowest level in three years. "Inflation has moved up since earlier in the year and remains somewhat elevated."
When the Fed slashed the federal funds rate last month, economist Alex Jacquez warned that it would "do little to address" the "economic turmoil" created by President Donald Trump. On Wednesday, the former Obama administration official, who is now chief of policy and advocacy at the think tank Groundwork Collaborative, again took aim at the US leader.
"The Fed's decision only confirms what Americans already know—the economy is slowing, job growth has stalled, prices keep climbing, and consumers are pulling back because they're out of options," Jacquez said in a statement. "Trump's reckless economic agenda is pushing our economy to the brink, and working families are paying the price."
US House Budget Committee Ranking Member Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.) similarly said in a Wednesday statement that "today's rate cut is yet another warning sign about the sorry state of Donald Trump's economy."
"Nearly half of all states are now in or near recession, inflation is climbing, and the labor market is losing strength," Boyle noted. "This is all a direct result of Trump's reckless tariff taxes and his chaotic economic agenda."
"At the same time, working families are facing the largest spike in health insurance premiums in our nation's history," he stressed. "I'll keep fighting to lower costs, protect affordable healthcare, and make sure every American has access to a good-paying job.”
Rohit Chopra, who directed the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau during the Biden administration, before Trump gutted the agency, was also critical of the Republican president on Wednesday.
"While he is not in the room to vote on Fed interest rates, President Trump's shadow looms large over the Federal Reserve and many members seem eager to please him," Chopra said. "While Gov. Lisa Cook is fighting back, markets seem to understand that the Fed's decision-making will be heavily shaped by the whims of the White House."
Trump is trying to oust Cook from the Fed's Board of Governors, which her lawyers call "unprecedented and illegal." The US Supreme Court is set to hear arguments in her case in January; in the meantime, earlier this month, the justices allowed her to remain in her post.
As Americans face tariff-related price hikes, surging health insurance premiums, and fallout from the government shutdown, from missed paychecks to no food assistance, the Federal Reserve on Wednesday announced its second interest rate cut of the year.
"Job gains have slowed this year, and the unemployment rate has edged up but remained low through August," the US central bank said in a statement about the Federal Open Market Committee cutting the benchmark interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 3.75-4%, its lowest level in three years. "Inflation has moved up since earlier in the year and remains somewhat elevated."
When the Fed slashed the federal funds rate last month, economist Alex Jacquez warned that it would "do little to address" the "economic turmoil" created by President Donald Trump. On Wednesday, the former Obama administration official, who is now chief of policy and advocacy at the think tank Groundwork Collaborative, again took aim at the US leader.
"The Fed's decision only confirms what Americans already know—the economy is slowing, job growth has stalled, prices keep climbing, and consumers are pulling back because they're out of options," Jacquez said in a statement. "Trump's reckless economic agenda is pushing our economy to the brink, and working families are paying the price."
US House Budget Committee Ranking Member Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.) similarly said in a Wednesday statement that "today's rate cut is yet another warning sign about the sorry state of Donald Trump's economy."
"Nearly half of all states are now in or near recession, inflation is climbing, and the labor market is losing strength," Boyle noted. "This is all a direct result of Trump's reckless tariff taxes and his chaotic economic agenda."
"At the same time, working families are facing the largest spike in health insurance premiums in our nation's history," he stressed. "I'll keep fighting to lower costs, protect affordable healthcare, and make sure every American has access to a good-paying job.”
Rohit Chopra, who directed the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau during the Biden administration, before Trump gutted the agency, was also critical of the Republican president on Wednesday.
"While he is not in the room to vote on Fed interest rates, President Trump's shadow looms large over the Federal Reserve and many members seem eager to please him," Chopra said. "While Gov. Lisa Cook is fighting back, markets seem to understand that the Fed's decision-making will be heavily shaped by the whims of the White House."
Trump is trying to oust Cook from the Fed's Board of Governors, which her lawyers call "unprecedented and illegal." The US Supreme Court is set to hear arguments in her case in January; in the meantime, earlier this month, the justices allowed her to remain in her post.