C-SPAN examines the 2017 FOMC’s rare three dissents despite Jerome Powell’s claims of unity, revealing tensions as the Fed cut rates three times amid slowing job growth—risking inflation already at 2.3%—while Trump’s tariffs destabilized markets; Neil Chilson debates AI regulations, Trump unveils a $12B farmer bailout, and David Bob traces Bill of Rights Day origins, underscoring how policy clashes and historical legacies shape modern governance. [Automatically generated summary]
And while it's not unusual for one or two members of the committee, which goes up to 12 voting members, to dissent, three is a bit notable.
Now, Powell downplayed the divides among members in his press conference today, saying that the FOMC generally agrees on what the issues facing the economy are.
They just differ over how to tackle them.
And that nine out of the 12 members voting for one decision, given a situation where the Fed's dual mandate is kind of in tension with itself, is not that bad of a spread.
That Fed mandate, low inflation, high employment, how has the Fed been trying to balance tackling both of them?
So, for the past three meetings, the Fed has been acting in a way that's meant to kind of guard against the employment side of that mandate slipping.
What does that mean in normal terms?
The Fed is concerned about the economy slowing down over the year, specifically how much slower the job market has gone and how job gains have really fallen to a crawl, and want to cut rates to make sure that if there is some underlying weakness in the economy, they're well positioned to respond to that.
Now, of course, the risk of cutting rates right now when inflation is already higher than they want it to be is that that inflation could keep going higher, fueled by the lower rates.
Powell said today that there's a case to be made that the inflation could start to dissipate once Trump's tariff announcements settle down.
But, of course, anybody following the president's trade policy knows that it can change very, very quickly and without much notice.
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Coming up this morning, we'll talk about the week ahead in Congress with Bloomberg Congressional Reporter Stephen Dennis.
And then we'll talk about the week ahead in the White House with Washington Times White House reporter Mallory Wilson.
Also, Neil Chilson, former acting Federal Trade Commission Chief Technologist and Head of AI policy for the Abundance Institute, on President Trump's executive order blocking artificial intelligence regulations at the state level.
And Bill of Rights Institute President David Bob on the history behind Bill of Rights Day, a commemoration of the ratification of the U.S. Constitution's first 10 amendments.
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During a White House meeting with several cabinet secretaries and food producers, President Trump announced a $12 billion federal aid package for farmers as part of an effort to lighten the effects of some of the administration's tariff policies.
During the hour-long meeting, President Trump and others also fielded questions on agricultural policy.