SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
jerome powell
In Dead of Night, Senate GOP Schedules Vote on Trump Fed Pick
"No Republican claiming to care about Fed independence should support moving forward the nomination of Kevin Warsh," said Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
Apr 25, 2026
In the late hours of Friday night, Republicans on the Senate Banking Committee scheduled a vote to advance President Donald Trump's pick to lead the Federal Reserve, shortly after the Justice Department announced it was dropping its criminal probe into the current head of the central bank, Jerome Powell.
The committee vote will take place on April 29, putting megarich financier Kevin Warsh on track for full Senate confirmation by the time Powell's term as Fed chair ends on May 15. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), the top Democrat on the banking panel, said in a statement early Saturday morning that "either the Republican majority is fooled easily or they are hoping to fool the American people," arguing that the Justice Department only agreed to drop its widely condemned probe of Powell—for now, at least—to clear the way for Warsh's confirmation.
"The Department of Justice threatened to restart the investigation into Fed Chair Powell at any time while continuing its probe against Gov. Lisa Cook," said Warren. The senator pointed to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt's remark on Friday that the investigation into Powell "is not necessarily dropped, it's just being moved over to the inspector general."
The probe into the Fed's building renovations produced no evidence of a crime and was seen as a politically motivated attack on Powell, whom Trump has targeted repeatedly for not supporting the president's desired monetary policy. Trump originally nominated Powell to lead the central bank in 2017.
Warren said Saturday that "no Republican claiming to care about Fed independence should support moving forward the nomination of Kevin Warsh, who proved in his nomination hearing to be nothing more than President Trump’s sock puppet.”
While the DOJ investigation into Powell was ongoing, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC)—a banking committee member—put a hold on Warsh's confirmation. As of this writing, Tillis has yet to indicate he is satisfied with federal prosecutors' announcement of an end to the Powell investigation.
Warren and other critics see Warsh as someone who would bow to Trump's influence at the Federal Reserve. During his confirmation hearing, Warsh declined to say whether Trump lost the 2020 election, which the president still falsely claims was stolen.
"He argues he's going to be an independent Fed chair, but refuses to acknowledge that Trump lost the 2020 election," said economist Justin Wolfers. "If you can't state simple facts when you're in the political spotlight, you aren't independent. You're a coward."
Observers have also raised concerns about Warsh's financial disclosures—or lack thereof. In recent Senate filings, Warsh disclosed owning assets worth between around $135 million and $226 million, but he did not provide specific details about more than $100 million in holdings, citing confidentiality agreements.
Warren told reporters earlier this month that after meeting with Warsh, she spoke with "the White House briefer on the FBI investigation into Mr. Warsh’s background."
"And what I can say about that report," said Warren, "is that I was told that the FBI made zero investigation into any of Mr. Warsh’s financial holdings, including those that he is refusing to disclose, and that they made zero investigation as to why [Warsh] appears in the publicly available Epstein files and whether he appears in other files that have not been made public.”
Keep ReadingShow Less
Warren Says DOJ Dropped Powell Probe to Secure Installation of Trump 'Sock Puppet' as Fed Chair
"Anyone who believes Donald Trump’s corrupt scheme to take over the Fed is over is fooling themselves."
Apr 24, 2026
The Justice Department on Friday dropped its criminal investigation into US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, but Sen. Elizabeth Warren warned in response that the threat to the central bank's independence is far from over.
Shortly after US Attorney Jeanine Pirro announced on that her office was abandoning its months-long investigation of Powell for now, Warren released a statement cautioning that the end of the widely condemned probe didn't mean an end to President Donald Trump's efforts to take over the Federal Reserve.
Warren pointed out that while Pirro was no longer investigating Powell, the Justice Department is still investigating Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook, whom Trump has unsuccessfully tried to fire.
"Let’s be clear what the Justice Department announced today," said Warren. "They threatened to restart the bogus criminal investigation into Fed Chair Powell at any time while failing to drop their ridiculous criminal probe against Governor Cook. Anyone who believes Donald Trump’s corrupt scheme to take over the Fed is over is fooling themselves."
Warren concluded by saying that the US Senate should not move forward with the confirmation of Kevin Warsh, a financier whom Trump nominated to be Powell's replacement.
“This is just an attempt to clear the path for Senate Republicans to install President Trump’s sock puppet Kevin Warsh as Fed chair," the Massachusetts senator said.
Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ) echoed Warren's criticisms, and said that dropping the Powell investigation wasn't enough to make him believe the president had given up on his quest to control US monetary policy.
"Trump wants a Fed chair that will do his bidding," wrote Kim. "He'll drop the bogus investigation into Powell but not Lisa Cook because it clears the path for Senate Republicans to confirm Kevin Warsh, Trump’s pick for Fed chair. You deserve a Fed that works for you, not Donald Trump."
Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee also called foul on the Trump DOJ's machinations, writing in a social media post that the entire investigation into Powell "was just a political tactic and had nothing to do with evidence of a crime."
"The White House is using criminal prosecutions to free up spots on the Federal Reserve Board so the President can manipulate the money supply to cover up for his disastrous economic policies," the House Judiciary Democrats wrote. "And US Attorney Jeanine Pirro is content to abuse the grand jury process to attack Trump's chosen political targets."
University of Michigan economist Justin Wolfers delivered a warning for Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), who had vowed to hold up Warsh's confirmation until the probe of Powell was dropped, to resist the temptation to believe the investigation's end meant the crisis was over.
"While I admired Tillis' stand for Fed independence, this was always the problem with his strategy," Wolfers explained. "The president can meet Tillis' threshold of promising not to jail this end-of-term Fed chair, but he's kept open the option of threatening to jail the next one. The threats will continue unless the Senate refuses to confirm any nominee without clear legislation outlawing it. Congress has a role to play."
While Pirro is no longer investigating Powell, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said this didn't mean the probe had ended, but had been transferred to the Federal Reserve inspector general.
"The case is not necessarily dropped, it's just being moved over to the inspector general," Leavitt told reporters. "This has been a priority for the president. The investigation still continues."
LOL -- Leavitt says the Powell investigation actually isn't over
"The case is not necessarily dropped, it's just being moved over to the inspector general. This has been a priority for the president. The investigation still continues." pic.twitter.com/LW4jeKzY9p
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 24, 2026
This prompted Warren to reiterate that the Senate should not move forward with any vote to confirm Warsh as Federal Reserve chairman.
"Trump's spokeswoman says the witch hunt against Jerome Powell 'still continues,'" Warren wrote. "No Republican claiming to care about Fed independence should move Warsh’s nomination forward."
Trump for the last year has publicly attacked Powell for not aggressively cutting interest rates. Powell, who was nominated by Trump to be chairman of the Federal Reserve in 2017, has refused to cave into the president's pressure campaign, and has pointed to the Trump administration's own policies—in particular its global tariffs on imported products—as putting upward pressure on inflation.
Powell's term as chairman expires on May 15.
Keep ReadingShow Less
Powell Gives Extraordinary Show of Support to Fed Governor Targeted by Trump
The president is trying to fire Fed Gov. Lisa Cook for alleged mortgage fraud. Critics say he's targeting another one of his political foes.
Jan 19, 2026
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reportedly plans to attend Wednesday's US Supreme Court oral arguments in the case involving President Donald Trump's attempt to fire Fed Gov. Lisa Cook.
A "person familiar with the matter" told the Associated Press on condition of anonymity that Powell would attend the high court session in the face of Trump's unprecedented effort to oust one of the seven members of the Fed's governing board.
Last August, Trump announced his termination of Cook—an appointee of former President Joe Biden—for alleged fraud, accusing her of signing two primary residence mortgages within weeks of each other. An investigation published last month by ProPublica revealed that Trump did the same thing that he's accusing Cook of doing.
Cook denies any wrongdoing, has not been charged with any crime, and has filed a lawsuit challenging Trump’s attempt to fire her. In October, the Supreme Court declined to immediately remove Cook and agreed to hear oral arguments in the case.
In what many critics allege is an attempt by Trump to strong-arm the Fed into further interest rate cuts, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) earlier this month served the central bank with grand jury subpoenas related to Powell's congressional testimony on renovations to Fed headquarters in Washington, DC.
Powell—who was nominated by Trump in 2017 and whose four-year term as Fed chair ends May 15—responded by alleging that “the threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the president."
"This is about whether the Fed will be able to continue to set interest rates based on evidence and economic conditions—or whether instead monetary policy will be directed by political pressure or intimidation," he added.
Trump is trying to install his puppets at the Fed.First by trying to fire Lisa Cook and rushing in his top econ adviser.Now by abusing the law to try to push Jerome Powell out for good.Next he'll nominate a new Chair—and Trump says “anybody that disagrees" with him is out.
[image or embed]
— Elizabeth Warren (@warren.senate.gov) January 15, 2026 at 7:54 AM
In addition to Cook, Trump has targeted a number of Democrats with what critics say are dubious mortgage fraud claims.
Last November, a federal judge dismissed a DOJ criminal case against New York Attorney General Letitia James, who was charged with bank fraud and false statements regarding a property in Virginia. Critics called the charges against James—who successfully prosecuted Trump for financial crimes—baseless and politically motivated. A federal grand jury subsequently rejected another administration attempt to indict James.
The president has accused other political foes, including US Sen. Adam Schiff and Rep. Eric Swalwell—both California Democrats who played key roles in both of the president’s House impeachments—of similar fraud. Swalwell is currently under formal criminal investigation. Both lawmakers deny the allegations.
Keep ReadingShow Less
How Will the Billionaires React If Trump Cancels the 2026 Elections?
We now know that most of the big money boys couldn’t care less about democracy, but it's worth asking how the markets will react if the current US president tries to end American democracy.
Jan 14, 2026
The lack of market reaction to the news that Trump ordered his Justice Department to investigate criminal charges against Fed Chair Jerome Powell surprises many people. After all, everyone knows that the claims about cost overruns being the basis for the investigation is nonsense. Trump wants to threaten Powell with criminal charges because he ignored Trump’s demand that he lower interest rates.
This ordinarily would be seen as a very big deal. Ever since Nixon, presidents have been reluctant to be seen as pressuring the Fed. In fact, their concern on this issue often seemed absurd to my view. President Biden didn’t want his Council of Economic Advisors to even comment on interest rate policy, as though giving a view based on the economic data would be undue pressure.
But there is a big difference between presenting an economic argument and threatening to imprison a Fed chair who disagrees. And we now see which side Trump comes down on.
But apparently, the markets are just fine with this new threat. The major stock indexes all rose on Monday, although bond prices fell slightly, pushing long-term rates higher. The dollar also fell modestly.
The non-reaction of the stock markets might seem surprising. After all, the independent Fed is considered a sacred feature of US prosperity. There is no shortage of economists who will insist that a Fed that is subordinate to the whims of a president is quick route to double-digit or even triple digit inflation. (I’m more agnostic on this one, but the markets generally don’t listen to me.)
Anyhow, Trump is now not just looking to fire an insubordinate Fed chair, he’s looking to throw him in prison. And the markets just yawned.
This reaction should cause us to start asking how the markets might react if Trump just cancels or outright steals the 2026 elections in order to keep his lackeys in control of Congress. Under any other modern president, the fear of a cancelled or stolen election would be silly. While they might have used dubious tactics leading up to an election, we could be comfortable that the votes would be counted, and the outcome would be binding. (Florida in 2000 is a major exception.) No one ever suggested that an election would be cancelled.
But Trump has made it clear that he considers both cancellation and ordering that some votes not be counted as serious options in his recent New York Times interview. No one can be safe in assuming that we will have a normal democratic election this year.
Given this reality, we might want to speculate on how the markets would react in the event that Trump does decide to end American democracy. We now know that most of the big money boys couldn’t care less about democracy. Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, and Tim Cook have been happy to cozy up to Trump in Mar-a-Lago, even as he violates one democratic norm after another. Elon Musk has made it clear that he has contempt for democracy, insofar as it means allowing non-white people to vote.
This gang would obviously have no moral issues with a cancelled or stolen election. But what about the economics?
Trump has already made it clear that he will favor businesses whose leaders praise him and punish those who criticize him. His most recent effort in this direction was saying that he intended to ban ExxonMobil from access to Venezuelan oil because its CEO said what every oil analyst has said since Trump became president of that country: it will be difficult for companies to profitably invest there.
The economies of countries where the leader can reward or punish companies on a whim tend to not do very well. The courts have provided a limited check on Trump’s whims as has even this pathetic Congress. However, if Trump is deciding who serves in Congress, the checks will be gone. We will have full-rule by our demented 79-year-old president.
Perhaps markets will be fine with that. With enough rear-end licking some companies may still do fine, but it would seem on the straight economics most people with money would probably prefer to invest in a serious country. Let’s hope we don’t have to find out.
Keep ReadingShow Less
Sanders Warns Powell Probe Part of Trump Plan to 'Intimidate and Destroy' All Critics
"We must not allow our great country, the United States of America, to become an authoritarian society."
Jan 12, 2026
Sen. Bernie Sanders on Monday warned that the Trump administration's targeting of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell for criminal investigation was part of a broader pattern of intimidation aimed at quelling dissent.
In a prepared statement, Sanders (I-Vt.) acknowledged that he had his own disagreements with Powell, a conservative Republican who was first appointed by President Donald Trump to be chairman of the Federal Reserve in 2017.
However, Sanders said political disagreements had nothing to do with the Department of Justice launching a criminal probe of Powell.
"In a democracy, debate and disagreement are normal," Sanders said. "But Donald Trump does not 'disagree' with his opponents. In his pursuit of absolute power, he attempts to destroy anyone who stands in his way. He's actively prosecuting Powell not because the Fed chair broke the law, but because he won't bend the knee to Donald Trump."
Sanders noted that Powell was only the latest target of the Trump administration's vindictive retribution.
"When Sen. Mark Kelly (R-Ariz.) spoke out against Donald Trump's authoritarian rhetoric and threats toward political opponents, Trump didn't agree," Sanders explained. "He had his Defense Department investigate Kelly for misconduct and threatened to have him executed."
Sanders also pointed to the prosecutions of New York Attorney General Letitia James and former FBI Director James Comey, as well as his threats against assorted other critics, as evidence that Trump seeks to "intimidate and destroy... as part of his march to authoritarianism."
"We must not allow our great country, the United States of America, to become an authoritarian society," Sanders concluded. "Trump's persecution of his political opponents must end."
The co-chairs of the Not Above the Law coalition–Lisa Gilbert, co-president of Public Citizen; Praveen Fernandes, vice president of the Constitutional Accountability Center; Kelsey Herbert, campaign director at MoveOn; and Brett Edkins, managing director for policy and political affairs at Stand Up America—also denounced the investigation into Powell as politically motivated on Monday, while arguing it was part of an effort to stifle dissent in the US.
"Whether targeting federal judges, members of Congress, civil society organizations, or now the chair of the Federal Reserve, Trump weaponizes the full force of government against anyone who won't submit to his will," they said. "Undermining the Federal Reserve threatens Americans’ jobs and savings, and our nation’s economy."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Backlash Builds Against Trump DOJ's 'Unprecedented' Investigation of US Federal Reserve Chairman
"If the Federal Reserve loses its independence, the stability of our markets and the broader economy will suffer."
Jan 12, 2026
The US Department of Justice's decision to open a criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell has ignited a major backlash that even has some Republican senators drawing a line in the sand.
Shortly after Powell released a video on Sunday accusing the Department of Justice (DOJ) of waging an "intimidation" campaign against him on behalf of President Donald Trump, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) blasted the administration, accusing them of trying to compromise the independence of America's central bank.
“If there were any remaining doubt whether advisers within the Trump administration are actively pushing to end the independence of the Federal Reserve, there should now be none,” said Tillis, who further vowed to "oppose the confirmation of any nominee for the Fed—including the upcoming Fed chair vacancy—until this legal matter is fully resolved."
On Monday, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) backed up Tillis' pledge to oppose any nominees for the Federal Reserve until the criminal probe of Powell, whose term as Fed chair is due to end in May, has been resolved.
Murkowski also revealed that she spoke with Powell and determined that "it’s clear the administration’s investigation is nothing more than an attempt at coercion" aimed at affecting his decisions on US monetary policy.
"The stakes are too high to look the other way," Murkowski emphasized. "If the Federal Reserve loses its independence, the stability of our markets and the broader economy will suffer."
Trump can only afford to lose the support of four Republican senators in a vote for a new Fed chair, which means Tillis and Murkowski's vows not to support any nominee until the case against Powell is resolved carry significant weight.
A bipartisan group of economists who have served under US presidents dating back to Ronald Reagan—including former Federal Reserve Chairs Alan Greenspan, Ben Bernanke, and Janet Yellin—released a joint statement on Monday denouncing what they described as an effort to strong-arm the Federal Reserve into doing the president's bidding.
"The reported criminal inquiry into Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell is an unprecedented attempt to use prosecutorial attacks to undermine... independence," they wrote. "This is how monetary policy is made in emerging markets with weak institutions, with highly negative consequences for inflation and the functioning of their economies more broadly. It has no place in the United States, whose greatest strength is the rule of law, which is at the foundation of our economic success."
Trump, who nominated Powell to be Federal Reserve chairman in 2017, has been openly pressuring Powell for months to more aggressively cut interest rates in the face of a faltering jobs market.
Powell, however, has continued to take a more cautious approach, and has cited the price instability caused by Trump's tariffs as a reason to hold off on more aggressive rate cuts.
Keep ReadingShow Less
Fed Chair Powell Says He Won't Bow to Trump 'Intimidation' as DOJ Launches Criminal Probe
"This unprecedented action should be seen in the broader context of the administration's threats and ongoing pressure," said Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
Jan 12, 2026
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell revealed in a defiant statement late Sunday that the US Department of Justice is threatening him with criminal charges, a step the central bank chief condemned as "intimidation" for not bowing to President Donald Trump's demands on interest rate policy.
"I have deep respect for the rule of law and for accountability in our democracy. No one—certainly not the chair of the Federal Reserve—is above the law," Powell said in a video statement. "But this unprecedented action should be seen in the broader context of the administration's threats and ongoing pressure."
Powell said that the Justice Department, which Trump has repeatedly wielded against his political opponents, served the Federal Reserve on Friday with grand jury subpoenas related to the central bank chair's congressional testimony on Fed office building renovations.
But Powell, who was first nominated to his role by Trump in 2017, said accusations that he misled lawmakers about the scope of the renovations were a "pretext" obscuring the real reason the Justice Department is pursuing a criminal indictment.
"The threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the president," said Powell. "This is about whether the Fed will be able to continue to set interest rates based on evidence and economic conditions—or whether instead monetary policy will be directed by political pressure or intimidation."
Video message from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell: https://t.co/5dfrkByGyX pic.twitter.com/O4ecNaYaGH
— Federal Reserve (@federalreserve) January 12, 2026
The New York Times reported Sunday that the investigation into Powell was approved late last year by Trump loyalist Jeanine Pirro, a former Fox News host now serving as US attorney for the District of Columbia. Trump claimed he didn't "know anything about" the Powell investigation, but added, "He's certainly not very good at the Fed, and he's not very good at building buildings."
Powell, whose term as Fed chair ends in May, has repeatedly defied Trump in public, dismissing the president's threat to remove him from the helm of the central bank as unlawful and, at one point, fact-checking Trump to his face about the estimated cost of Fed renovations.
Powell has also publicly blamed Trump's tariff policies for driving up inflation.
"It's really tariffs that are causing the most of the inflation overshoot," Powell said last month, following the central bank's December 10 meeting. The Fed cut interest rates three times last year, bringing them down by a total of 75 basis points.
But Trump has pushed for much more aggressive rate cuts and attacked Powell—who does not have sole authority over interest rate decisions—as a "moron" and "truly one of my worst appointments."
Lisa Gilbert, co-president of the watchdog group Public Citizen, applauded Powell's "bold defense of the rule of law" and said that Fed policy "should not be subject to intimidation and bullying by Trump loyalist prosecutors."
"The Department of Justice should serve the rule of law, not the vindictive instincts of an authoritarian president," said Gilbert. "And it should never misuse its criminal enforcement powers to pursue pretextual prosecutions against the president’s political opponents or those who show a modicum of independence.”
"He is abusing the law like a wannabe dictator so the Fed serves him and his billionaire friends."
Democratic members of Congress also rose to Powell's defense.
"Threatening criminal action against a Fed chair because he refuses to do the president's bidding on interest rates undermines the rule of law, which is the very foundation for American prosperity," Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) wrote on social media.
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) added that "no one should lose their sense of outrage about what is happening to our country."
"This is an effort to create an autocratic state. It's that plain," said Murphy. "Trump is threatening to imprison the chairman of Federal Reserve simply because he won't enact the rate policy Trump wants."
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a frequent critic of Powell and Fed rate policy during his tenure, wrote late Sunday that Trump "wants to nominate a new Fed chair AND push Powell off the board for good to complete his corrupt takeover of our central bank."
Powell's term as a Fed governor runs through January 2028. Trump's top economic adviser, Kevin Hassett, is widely seen as the president's likely pick to replace Powell as chair of the central bank.
Warren called on the Senate to "not move ANY Trump Fed nominee" amid the DOJ investigation into Powell.
"He is abusing the law like a wannabe dictator so the Fed serves him and his billionaire friends," Warren said of Trump.
Keep ReadingShow Less
Fed Cut Interest Rates But Can't Undo 'Damage Created by Trump's Chaos Economy,' Expert Says
"Working families are heading into the holidays feeling stretched, stressed, and far from jolly."
Dec 10, 2025
A leading economist and key congressional Democrat on Wednesday pointed to the Federal Reserve's benchmark interest rate cut as just the latest evidence of the havoc that President Donald Trump is wreaking on the economy.
The US central bank has a dual mandate to promote price stability and maximum employment. The Federal Open Market Committee may raise the benchmark rate to reduce inflation, or cut it to spur economic growth, including hiring. However, the FOMC is currently contending with a cooling job market and soaring costs.
After the FOMC's two-day monthly meeting, the divided committee announced a quarter-point reduction to 3.5-3.75%. It's the third time the panel has cut the federal funds rate in recent months after a pause during the early part of Trump's second term.
"Today's decision shows that the Trump economy is in a sorry state and that the Federal Reserve is concerned about a weakening job market," House Budget Committee Ranking Member Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.) said in a statement. "On top of a flailing job market, the president's tariffs—his national sales tax—continue to fuel inflation."
"To make matters worse, extreme Republican policies, including Trump's Big Ugly Law, are driving healthcare costs sharply higher," he continued, pointing to the budget package that the president signed in July. "I will keep fighting to lower costs and for an economy that works for every American."
Alex Jacquez, a former Obama administration official who is now chief of policy and advocacy at the Groundwork Collaborative, similarly said that "Trump's reckless handling of the economy has backed the Fed into a corner—stuck between rising costs and a weakening job market, it has no choice but to try and offer what little relief they can to consumers via rate cuts."
"But the Fed cannot undo the damage created by Trump's chaos economy," Jacquez added, "and working families are heading into the holidays feeling stretched, stressed, and far from jolly."
Thanks to the historically long federal government shutdown, the FOMC didn't have typical data—the consumer price index or jobs report—to inform Wednesday's decision. Instead, its new statement and projections "relied on 'available indicators,' which Fed officials have said include their own internal surveys, community contacts, and private data," Reuters reported.
"The most recent official data on unemployment and inflation is for September, and showed the unemployment rate rising to 4.4% from 4.3%, while the Fed's preferred measure of inflation also increased slightly to 2.8% from 2.7%," the news agency noted. "The Fed has a 2% inflation target, but the pace of price increases has risen steadily from 2.3% in April, a fact at least partly attributable to the pass-through of rising import taxes to consumers and a driving force behind the central bank's policy divide."
The lack of government data has also shifted journalists' attention to other sources, including the revelation from global payroll processing firm ADP that the US lost 32,000 jobs in November, as well as Gallup's finding last week that Americans' confidence in the economy has fallen by seven points over the past month and is now at its lowest level in over a year.
The Associated Press highlighted that the rate cut is "good news" for US job-seekers:
"Overall, we've seen a slowing demand for workers with employers not hiring the way they did a couple of years ago," said Cory Stahle, senior economist at the Indeed Hiring Lab. "By lowering the interest rate, you make it a little more financially reasonable for employers to hire additional people. Especially in some areas—like startups, where companies lean pretty heavily on borrowed money—that's the hope here."
Stahle acknowledged that it could take time for the rate cuts to filter down to employers and then to workers, but he said the signal of the reduction is also important.
"Beyond the size of the cut, it tells employers and job-seekers something about the Federal Reserve's priorities and focus. That they're concerned about the labor market and willing to step in and support the labor market. It's an assurance of the reserve's priorities."
The Federal Reserve is now projecting only one rate cut next year. During a Wednesday press conference, Fed Chair Jerome Powell pointed to the three cuts since September and said that "we are well positioned to wait to see how the economy evolves."
However, Powell is on his way out, with his term ending in May, and Trump signaled in a Tuesday interview with Politico that agreeing with immediate interest rate cuts is a litmus test for his next nominee to fill the role.
Trump—who embarked on a nationwide "affordability tour" this week after claiming last week that "the word 'affordability' is a Democrat scam"—also graded the US economy on his watch, giving it an A+++++.
US Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) responded: "Really? 60% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck. 800,000 are homeless. Food prices are at record highs. Wages lag behind inflation. God help us when we have a B+++++ economy."
Keep ReadingShow Less
As Planet Burns, US Banking Agencies Ditch Climate Risk Rules
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell recently warned that due to climate disasters, "there will be regions of the country where you can’t get a mortgage, there won’t be ATMs, banks won’t have branches."
Oct 17, 2025
Federal regulators have rescinded a set of guidelines for large banking institutions to consider the financial dangers of the climate crisis when making decisions about business strategy, risk management, and strategic planning.
On Thursday, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), and the Federal Reserve Board announced that they would immediately withdraw their interagency Principles for Climate-Related Financial Risk Management for Large Financial Institutions, a framework that required financial institutions with $100 billion or more in assets to consider climate risks.
The guidelines were first issued in 2023, which was, at the time, the hottest year on record. That year, the US experienced a record number of weather and climate-related disasters—including a massive drought across the south and Midwest, historic wildfires in Hawaii, and major flooding events across the country—that caused at least $92 billion worth of damage.
In October of that year, Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell said: "Banks need to understand, and appropriately manage, their material risks, including the financial risks of climate change."
The OCC, meanwhile, explained that "financial institutions are likely to be affected by both the physical risks and transition risks associated with climate change." This included both the risks to the safety of people and property "from acute, climate-related events, such as hurricanes, wildfires, floods, and heatwaves, and chronic shifts in climate," as well as changes due to "shifts in policy... that would be part of a transition to a lower carbon economy."
But these concerns have not carried over to the administration of President Donald Trump, who recently referred to climate change as a "con" and has sought to purge the federal government of any acknowledgement of the scientific consensus that it is being caused by human fossil fuel usage, which he has moved to aggressively expand.
In a joint release Thursday, the agencies said they "do not believe principles for managing climate-related financial risk are necessary because the agencies' existing safety and soundness standards require all supervised institutions to have effective risk management commensurate with their size, complexity, and activities," adding that "all supervised institutions are expected to consider and appropriately address all material financial risks and should be resilient to a range of risks, including emerging risks."
Elyse Schupak, policy advocate with Public Citizen's climate program, criticized the withdrawal of the guidelines, calling it "an irresponsible and politically motivated move in the wrong direction."
"The increase in the frequency and severity of climate disasters and the rapidly escalating property insurance crisis mean the agencies should be working harder to understand and mitigate climate-related financial risks faced by banks and the financial system—not backtracking," she said. "Effective bank regulation requires looking squarely at all risks to supervised institutions, including climate risks, and addressing them before they have destabilizing effects. This approach, rather than politics, should guide regulator action."
The move comes as the globe is reaching the point of no return for the climate crisis. Global temperatures have already soared to between 1.3°C and 1.4°C above preindustrial levels and are expected to pass the 1.5°C threshold within the next five years, at which point many of the worst effects will become unavoidable. These effects include more frequent heatwaves, sea level increases, more frequent severe storms, and aggressive droughts.
In addition to the human toll, these entail considerable financial damage. In December 2024, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that if the Earth continues to warm at current rates, the nation's gross domestic product (GDP) will be 4% lower than if temperatures had remained stable.
It predicted that sea level rise—projected 1 to 4 feet by the turn of the century—would cause anywhere from $250 billion to $930 billion worth of losses to property owners, mortgage lenders, insurance companies, and the federal government. Other untold costs, it said, would be borne as a result of heightened mortality from heat, declines in available food and water, increased rates of illness, and forced migration due to unlivable conditions.
Testifying before Congress earlier this year, Powell noted that banks and insurance companies have been pulling out of coastal areas at risk of flooding and places prone to wildfires due to the financial risk.
State Farm had recently canceled thousands of policies in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles shortly before it was hit with massive wildfires in January. He warned that as climate change worsens, financial institutions will deem it too risky to serve large portions of the country.
"If you fast forward 10 or 15 years," Powell said, "there will be regions of the country where you can't get a mortgage, there won't be ATMs, banks won't have branches, and things like that."
Schupak said: "For the Federal Reserve, capitulation to the politics of climate denial championed by the Trump administration is a threat to both its legitimacy and efficacy, which will be hard to repair."
"Powell has admitted that the Federal Reserve has done the 'bare minimum' on climate," she continued. "Now it will do even less, putting the banks it supervises and the broader financial system at risk."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Expert Warns Small Interest Rate Cut 'Will Do Little to Address Trump's Economic Turmoil'
"Trump promised to lower prices on day one and be 'the champion of the American worker,' yet his economic agenda has delivered higher prices, a stalled job market, and sluggish growth," said another economist.
Sep 17, 2025
As working-class Americans contend with a stalled labor market and rising prices under US President Donald Trump, economist Alex Jacquez warned Wednesday that the Federal Reserve's "small rate cut will do little to address Trump's economic turmoil."
"Driven by a stagnant job market, the Fed's move offers no real relief to American households, consumers, or workers—all of whom are paying the price for Trump's economic mismanagement," said Jacquez, who previously served as a special assistant to former President Barack Obama and is now chief of policy and advocacy at the think tank Groundwork Collaborative. "No interest rate tweak can undo that damage."
Jacquez's colleague Liz Pancotti, managing director of policy and advocacy at Groundwork, similarly said Wednesday that "President Trump promised to lower prices on day one and be 'the champion of the American worker,' yet his economic agenda has delivered higher prices, a stalled job market, and sluggish growth. He's leaving families and workers high and dry—and no move by the Fed will save them."
The president has been pressuring the US central bank to slash its benchmark interest rate, taking aim at Fed Chair Jerome Powell, whom Trump appointed during his first term. Powell remained in the post under former Democratic President Joe Biden.
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) voted to lower the federal funds rate by 0.25 percentage points, from 4.25-4.5% to 4-4.25%. It is the first cut since December 2024, and Powell said the decision reflects a "shift in the balance of risks" to the Fed's dual mandate of price stability and maximum employment.
Daniel Hornung, who held economic policy roles during the Obama and Biden administrations and is now a policy fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, said in a statement that "beyond the Fed's September cut, the main story from the Fed's projections is a cloudy outlook for the economy and monetary policy over the rest of the year."
The cut came after Trump ally Stephen Miran was sworn in to a seat on the Fed's Board of Governors on Tuesday—which made this FOMC gathering "the most politically charged meeting in recent memory," as Politico reported.
The new appointee "was the only Fed official to dissent from the decision," the outlet noted. "Miran called for twice as large a cut in borrowing costs, and the Fed's economic projections suggest that one official—likely Miran—would support jumbo-sized rate cuts at the next two meetings as well—an estimate that is conspicuously lower than the other 18 estimates."
Hornung highlighted that "an equal number of members favor hiking, no further cuts, or one cut to the number of members who favor two more cuts, and one outlier member—presumably, President Trump's current Council of Economic Advisers chair—favors the equivalent of five cuts."
"Besides Miran’s outlier status, which sends concerning signals about continued Fed independence," he added, "the wide range of views on the committee is a reaction to the real risks that tariff and immigration policy pose to both sides of the Fed's mandate."
Federal immigration agents across the United States are working to deliver on Trump's promised mass deportations, despite warnings of the human and economic impacts of rounding up immigrants living and working in the country. The president is also engaged in a global trade war, imposing tariffs that have driven up prices for a range of goods.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) announced last week that overall inflation rose by 2.9% year-over-year in August and core inflation rose by 3.1%. Jacquez said at the time: "Make no mistake, inflation is accelerating and American families continue to feel price pressures across the board from children's clothing, to groceries, to autos. Rate cuts will not ease the inescapable financial pain that the Trump economy is inflicting on households across the nation."
That came less than a week after BLS revealed in its first jobs report since Trump fired the agency's commissioner that the US economy added only 22,000 jobs in August, and the number of jobs created in July and June were once again revised downward.
Jacquez had called that report "more evidence that Trump’s promises to working families have fallen flat."
Recent polling has also exposed how working people are suffering under Trump's second administration. One survey—conducted by Data for Progress for Groundwork and Protect Borrowers—shows that "American families are trapped in a cycle of debt," with 55% of likely voters reporting at least some credit card debt, and another 18% saying they “had this type of debt in the past, but not anymore.”
The poll, released last week, also found that over half have or previously had car loan or medical debt, more than 40% have or had student debt, and over 35% are or used to be behind on utility payments. Additionally, nearly 30% have or had “buy now, pay later” debt through options such as Afterpay or Klarna.
Keep ReadingShow Less
See More Stories
Most Popular
To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good.
News & Opinion
Trending
Common Dreams, Inc. Founded 1997. Registered 501(c3) Non-Profit
Privacy Policy