Federal Reserve Refuses To Cut Interest Rates

The Federal Reserve voted to leave the benchmark interest rate between 4.25% and 4.5%, despite the economy’s “solid position.”

“For the time being, we are well-positioned to wait to learn more about the likely course of the economy before considering any adjustments to our policy stance,” Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said in a press conference following the decision.

The Consumer Price Index rose 2.4% in May, up from 2.3% in April — its lowest point in four years, The Daily Wire previously reported.

“Inflation remains somewhat elevated,” the Federal Reserve said today in a press release. “Uncertainty about the economic outlook has diminished but remains elevated.”

Earlier today, President Donald Trump said the Federal Reserve “probably won’t cut.”

“We have a stupid person, frankly, at the Fed,” Trump said. “I guess he’s a political guy, I don’t know. He’s a political guy who’s not a smart person.”

Powell said the Federal Open Market Committee’s stance is “not complicated.”

“What everyone on the FOMC wants is a good, solid American economy with strong labor market and price stability, that’s what we want,” Powell said. “That’s what matters to us. That’s pretty much all that matters to us.”

Powell said the country could still see negative economic effects from tariffs.

“Expectations of that [tariff] level, and thus of the related economic effects, reached a peak in April and have since declined,” Powell said in a press conference following the decision. “Even so, increases in tariffs this year are likely to push up prices and weigh on economic activity.”

The CPI has shown little impacts from Trump’s tariffs over the past three months, The Daily Wire previously reported. The index for food increased slightly compared to April, but the indexes for energy and gas decreased by 1% and 2.6%, respectively.

Powell said the Federal Reserve still expects to see impacts from tariffs this summer.

“It takes some time for tariffs to work their way through the chain of distribution to the end consumer,” Powell said. “We’re beginning to see some effects, and we do expect to see more of them over the coming months.”

But he said the ultimate effects of tariffs are “highly uncertain.”

Trump also said he would not reappoint Powell.

“I would have never reappointed him, Biden reappointed him,” Trump said. “He’s done a very poor job. So we have no inflation, we have only success, and I’d like to see interest rates get down.”

Despite maintaining interest rates, Powell said the economy shows no sign of weakening.

“The U.S. economy has defied all kinds of forecasts for it to weaken, really, over the last three years,” Powell said. “Eventually it will, but we don’t see signs of that now.”