Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is holding a press conference Wednesday afternoon, the first since President Trump began his second term. Powell, who is expected to serve out the rest of his term,

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell made clear on Wednesday the US central bank intends to hold interest rates where they are for the foreseeable future, pointing to a number of reasons why he and his colleagues expect to take their time before lowering borrowing costs again.

Consumers and traders are waiting to learn if the Fed’s pause is a one-meeting hold or the start of a longer stretch.

The central bank’s decision to pause at its first meeting of 2025 followed a series of cuts that began in September to account for progress already made on getting inflation down. Over the course of three meetings, the Fed lowered rates by a full percentage point to a range of 4.25 percent to 4.5 percent, which was maintained on Wednesday.

Nonetheless, already there is a clash with President Trump, who believes interest rates are “far too high." On his Truth Social platform, Trump went on the attack: Because Jay Powell and the Fed failed to stop the problem they created with Inflation,