US Fed expected to hold rates steady, despite pressure from Trump

The US Federal Reserve is expected to hold rates steady today, a decision overshadowed by threats to its independence and questions over its future leadership.

Fed chair Jerome Powell, long the target of US President Donald Trump’s ire for refusing to aggressively lower borrowing costs, is the subject of a criminal inquiry, while a bank governor is contesting Trump’s attempt to fire her. Economists worry the cases could erode the Fed’s credibility as apolitical.

Powell’s term is up in May, but Trump “wants something that may not exist,” The Wall Street Journal said, “a new chair who will pursue his demands for lower interest rates while still commanding enough credibility on Wall Street and from his colleagues to deliver them.”