by WorldTribune Staff / 247 Real News July 30, 2025

For the fifth time since December, the Federal Reserve has refused to cut interest rates, but faced dissent from two officials seeking an immediate cut.

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell on Wednesday again defied calls from President Donald Trump and other White House officials for immediate cuts. Trump has repeatedly asked for rates to be 3 percentage points lower, arguing it will save on U.S. debt interest costs while making borrowing less expensive for home buyers.

The president repeated that call in the hours before the Fed’s latest decision, saying in a Truth Social post that “’Too Late,’ MUST NOW LOWER THE RATE,” using his nickname for Powell. “No inflation! Let people buy, and refinance, their homes!”

The central bank’s decision leaves the benchmark federal funds rate at a range of 4.25% to 4.5%, where it has remained following all five of the Fed’s policy meetings this year.

Fed governors Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman disagreed with the decision and preferred to cut rates by a quarter percentage point, the first time two governors have dissented on a monetary policy decision in more than three decades.

Powell spoke at a press conference following the decision and said the central bank is focused on its dual mandate goals of maximum employment and stable prices, noting that “despite elevated uncertainty, the economy is in a solid position.”

Powell noted that despite today’s report that second quarter GDP grew at an annual rate of 3%, that the economy’s growth in the first half of 2025 was closed to 1.2% when accounting for the 0.5% contraction in the first quarter.

Powell added that data suggests the labor market is “broadly in balance and consistent with maximum employment,” and while inflation has eased from its 2022 highs, it remains elevated relative to the Fed’s 2% longer-run goal.

“Changes to government policies continue to evolve, and their effects on the economy remain uncertain. Higher tariffs have begun to show through more clearly to prices of some goods, but their overall effects on economic activity and inflation remain to be seen,” Powell explained.

Powell did not offer any hints that a cut could be made at the next meeting on Sept. 16-17, noting that the Fed will be assessing a lot of data in the coming months.

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  Defying the president’s push and internal dissent, Fed again refuses to cut rates