Washington D.C., July 30, 2025 – For the fifth-straight meeting, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell has decided to keep rates steady in what appears to have been an other-than-usual Federal Board meeting today in Washington D.C.
With two Republican governors voting to lower rates, the meeting marked the largest dissenting votes against the majority decision since Alan Greenspan ran the central bank in 1993.
The decision comes two days after an unprecedented trip by the sitting president to visit the pricey renovation site of the Federal Reserve’s central bank, which, adding to the ire of the cost-pinching Commander-in-Chief, racked up a total $3.1 billion bill for the entire project.
The Trump administration has been applying a carefully balanced pressure campaign on Chairman Powell to begin lowering rates after a stubbornly fought battle over inflation that has tested the purchasing power of a resolute American consumer since the heady days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
President Trump posted earlier today on his social media platform, Truth Social, before the Fed’s decision: “‘Too Late’ MUST NOW LOWER THE RATE. No Inflation! Let people buy, and refinance, their homes!”
But it was to no avail. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), which is the key policy-making body within the Federal Reserve and is tasked with guiding the central bank’s monetary policy decisions, noted in its announcement that “recent indicators suggest that the growth of economic activity moderated in the first half of the year. The unemployment rate remains low, and labor market conditions remain solid. Inflation remains somewhat elevated.”
After the meeting, the Federal Reserve is to keep its benchmark federal funds rate at a range of 4.25% to 4.5%. Despite the Federal Reserve Chairman’s decision today, Mr. Powell did point out that the U.S. economy grew by an annual rate of 3% in the second quarter of 2025, a rate which outpaced expectations.
Powell also noted that the nation’s labor market is “broadly balanced and consistent with maximum employment”, a principal objective of the Fed’s campaign against the threat of rising inflation. While lauding the economy’s strides, the Chairman also warned that the rate of inflation remains slightly “elevated relative to the Fed’s 2% goal.”
The Federal Reserve is traditionally a staunch defender of its independent status from the executive biases of presidential administrations, regardless of party affiliation, and such impartiality on behalf of the Fed tends to reassure the investment markets of any fears or concerns for potential instability. President Trump, therefore, has a careful game to play. In other words, he’d like to exert just enough pressure for Powell to feel the nudge, but not so much to spook the markets.
Jerome Powell has remained determined to stay on as Chairman and to serve out his term through May of 2026.
The Federal Open Market Committee’s next meeting to discuss interest rates will be September 16-17. President Donald Trump, expressing frustration at the Chairman and for his lack of urgency on lowering rates, has teased the idea of firing Powell, which could risk disrupting the markets. However, President Trump has developed a knack for the unexpected, but the question is: will he wait ‘til then?
