Fed Chair Jerome Powell DEFIES President Trump AGAIN By Refusing to Lower Interest Rates

Once again, the Federal Reserve is leaving interest rates unchanged — in spite of President Trump’s constant pressure to lower them.

Today, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell announced that the FOMC will be keeping interest rates the same, at 3.5% to 3.75%.

Watch:

🚨 BREAKING: Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell: "Today the FOMC decided to leave our policy rate unchanged."

pic.twitter.com/TuIaMM3N8R

— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) March 18, 2026

Stephen Miran — whom President Trump personally appointed to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors last year — was the only one who voted to cut interest rates.

CNBC has more:

In a widely expected decision, the Federal Open Market Committee voted 11-1 to keep the benchmark federal funds rate anchored in a range between 3.5%-3.75%. The rate sets overnight funding costs for banks but influences a broad range of consumer and business borrowing.

The committee in its post-meeting statement made few changes to its view on the economy, with a slightly faster pace of growth and higher inflation projections for 2026.

Despite the elevated uncertainty, officials again signaled they still expect a few rate cuts ahead. The closely watched “dot plot,” which reflects individual members’ rate projections, pointed to one reduction this year and another in 2027, though the timing remains unclear.

Of the 19 FOMC participants, seven signaled they expected rates to stay unchanged this year, one more than the last update in December. While future years showed a fairly wide disbursement of forecasts, the median outlook is for an additional cut in 2027 before the funds rate steadies out around 3.1% for the long term.

Stocks fell to session lows as the central bank’s decision and comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell drew more attention to the threat of persistant inflation.

One factor is the uncertainty associated with the war with Iran that started nearly three weeks ago. The fighting and its impact on the Strait of Hormuz has roiled the global oil market and threatened to keep inflation above the Fed’s 2% target.

“The implications of developments in the Middle East for the U.S. economy are uncertain,” the statement said.

During his news conference, Powell said it was “too soon to know” the impact of the war.

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“Near term measures of inflation expectations have risen in recent weeks, likely reflecting the substantial rise in oil prices caused by the supply disruptions in the Middle East,” he said.

Governor Stephen Miran again dissented, favoring a quarter percentage point cut amid rising concerns about the jobs climate. Governor Christopher Waller, who joined Miran in wanting a cut in January, voted this time to hold.

Prior to today’s announcement, President Trump once again pushed for a cut in interest rates in a post on Truth Social:

Recall that Jerome Powell’s time as Federal Reserve Chair is almost at an end.

Thankfully, he will be replaced by Trump pick Kevin Warsh this coming May.

This Fox News clip broke down the Fed’s decision and its implications further:

🚨 BREAKING: The Federal Reserve has left interest rates UNCHANGED, despite President Trump demanding rates be LOWERED for the American people

Fed funds rate remains at 3.75%

Chairman Jerome Powell is on his way out in the coming months, set to be replaced with Trump's pick… pic.twitter.com/6Uja33jugi

— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) March 18, 2026