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Federal Reserve officials lowered their benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point and penciled in two more reductions this year following months of intense pressure from the White House to slash borrowing costs.

Chair Jerome Powell pointed to growing signs of weakness in the labor market to explain why officials decided it was time to cut rates after holding them steady since December amid concerns over tariff-driven inflation.

The decision comes at an extraordinary moment for the Fed. President Donald Trump, who has demanded drastic rate reductions and sought to exert more control over the US central bank, continued his legal battle this week to remove one official from the Fed board and install his own top economic adviser ahead of the highly anticipated gathering.

Fed Governor Lisa Cook and newly-sworn-in Governor Stephen Miran, who is on a temporary leave from his role as chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, both attended the meeting.
The Federal Open Market Committee voted 11-1 on Wednesday to cut the target range for the federal funds rate to 4%-4.25%, after holding rates steady for five straight meetings this year.

Today's show features:

• Danielle DiMartino Booth, CEO and Chief Strategist at QI research, on what to watch for from the FOMC for the rest of 2025
• Ethan Penner, 2026 Candidate for Governor of California and Managing Partner and co-Founder of Mosaic Real Estate Investors, on his political platform as an independent candidate
• Bloomberg "Open Interest" Co-Host Matt Miller on Tesla working on a redesign of its door handles that have drawn safety scrutiny
• Bloomberg News Reporter Zach Mider on Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s contradictory mortgage pledges

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