Overview
- The FOMC lowered the federal funds rate by 0.25 percentage point to 3.50%–3.75%, the lowest in three years.
- Chicago’s Austan Goolsbee and Kansas City’s Jeffrey Schmid favored holding steady, while Governor Stephen Miran argued for a half‑point cut.
- Policymakers highlighted unemployment edging up through September and flagged downside risks to jobs, with projections showing wide dispersion and a median outlook for one more quarter‑point cut in 2026.
- The Fed paused balance‑sheet runoff and will resume short‑term Treasury bill purchases to ease money‑market strains.
- President Trump is pressing for deeper cuts and has begun vetting a successor to Jerome Powell, with Stephen Miran’s 48–47 confirmation underscoring more partisan confirmation battles.