Interest rates

The Fed's Rate Path: From the 2024 Cuts to Warsh's First Meetings

The Fed began easing in September 2024, cutting the federal-funds target range from 5.25%-5.50% to 3.50%-3.75% by December 2025 after a nine-month pause earlier that year. Under Jerome Powell, disagreements first centered on whether to cut faster; after Kevin Warsh became chair in May 2026, inflation and energy-price pressures shifted the debate toward whether to tighten.