Jerome Powell

The Federal Reserve Board named Jerome H. Powell chair pro tempore. Powell was to serve in that role until Kevin Warsh was sworn in as chair.

Only Pennsylvania Democrat John Fetterman crossed party lines. The confirmation came as fresh data showed inflation well above 2 percent and producer-price pressures at a three-year high, and markets had stopped pricing cuts. Powell's chair term expired two days later; he said he would stay on the board at least until the investigation into the Fed's headquarters renovation was complete, the first former chair to remain as governor in nearly 80 years.

The FOMC held for a third meeting, describing inflation as elevated in part because of global energy prices. Miran wanted a cut, while Beth Hammack, Neel Kashkari and Lorie Logan supported holding but objected to the statement's easing bias, the widest split under Powell. The Senate Banking Committee had advanced Warsh's nomination on a party-line vote the same day.

With oil prices rising on the conflict in the Middle East, the committee held for a second meeting and added that the implications for the U.S. economy were uncertain. Miran dissented alone for a quarter-point cut. Trump had formally sent Warsh's nomination to the Senate on March 4.

Chief Judge James E. Boasberg granted the Federal Reserve Board's motion to quash Justice Department subpoenas. The ruling concerned the Powell investigation.

Ending a search that had run since the summer of 2025 and considered nearly a dozen names, including governors Waller and Bowman, Trump announced on Truth Social that former governor Kevin Warsh, 55, would be his nominee for chair when Powell's term ended in May. Warsh, a Fed governor from 2006 to 2011 who had called for regime change at the central bank, would take the board seat held by Miran, whose term expired the next day. Gold and silver fell on the pick as markets read it as less of a threat to independence.

The committee kept rates unchanged, saying job gains had remained low but the unemployment rate showed signs of stabilising and inflation remained somewhat elevated. Governors Miran and Waller, both seen as candidates for chair, dissented in favour of a quarter-point cut. Two days later Trump announced his choice of chair.

Jerome H. Powell said the Justice Department subpoenas were pretexts. The statement concerned subpoenas served on the Federal Reserve Board.

The FOMC delivered a third consecutive quarter-point cut, taking the range 75 basis points below its September level. Miran dissented for a larger cut while Austan Goolsbee and Jeffrey Schmid preferred to hold, the most dissents at a meeting since 2019. The projections showed only one cut in 2026, and this was the last change in the target range for at least the following nine months.

With the government shut down and most official data suspended, the committee cut again and announced it would stop shrinking its securities holdings on December 1. Miran again wanted a half point while Kansas City's Jeffrey Schmid wanted no change. Powell said a December cut was far from a foregone conclusion.

The FOMC resumed easing after nine months, saying downside risks to employment had risen, and the projections showed two more cuts in 2025. Miran dissented on his first day in favour of a half-point cut; Bowman and Waller, who had dissented in July, voted with the majority. Freddie Mac's 30-year mortgage rate fell to 6.26 percent that week, the lowest in almost a year.

In his final Jackson Hole speech as chair Powell said the labour market was in a curious kind of balance with both supply and demand for workers slowing, that tariff effects on prices were now visible, and that with policy restrictive the baseline outlook and the shifting balance of risks might warrant a change in stance. The Fed also released its revised framework, dropping the 2020 average inflation targeting language. Markets took it as a signal for a September cut.

Governors Michelle Bowman and Christopher Waller voted for a quarter-point cut, the first time two governors had dissented together since 1993, as President Trump escalated demands for lower rates and named Powell's replacement a running theme. The statement said growth had moderated, the labour market remained solid and inflation was somewhat elevated. Trump had toured the Fed's renovation site the week before.

The FOMC cut by a quarter point for the third consecutive meeting, but the new projections showed just two cuts in 2025 instead of four and Cleveland's Beth Hammack dissented for no change. Markets fell sharply and the ten-year yield rose; the range would then stay unchanged for nine months as tariffs clouded the inflation outlook.

After holding at 5.25 to 5.5 percent for fourteen months, the FOMC opened its easing cycle with a 50 basis point cut, saying it had gained greater confidence that inflation was moving sustainably toward 2 percent while job gains had slowed. Governor Michelle Bowman dissented in favour of a quarter point, the first dissent by a governor since 2005. Mortgage rates had already fallen to about 6.1 percent in anticipation.