Overview

• Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell highlighted the value of integrity and public service during a speech at Princeton University, reflecting on his tenure and challenges faced by the Fed.
• Powell defended the Fed's pandemic-era decisions, including cutting interest rates to near zero and launching asset-purchase programs to avert a global depression.
• President Donald Trump has intensified attacks on Powell, criticizing the Fed for maintaining interest rates and accusing Powell of political bias and inaction on inflation.
• The Federal Reserve has kept its benchmark lending rate unchanged at 4.25% to 4.5% this year, citing economic uncertainty stemming from Trump's tariff policies.
• Powell praised career civil servants and universities, calling them vital national assets, as the Trump administration continues cutting funding to Ivy League institutions like Princeton.