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Fed Holds Rates, Defying Trump; Dow Plummets

7/30/2026

23 5 Full Breakdown

Summary

Story summary

The Federal Reserve (Fed) kept its policy rate at 3.5-3.75% despite President Donald Trump’s push for a cut.
The committee voted 9-3, with three presidents favoring a 0.25-point rise.
Robert Kuttner said three dissenting votes were dissent since 2016 and that inflation from Iran war and Trump’s tariffs may not be curbed by rates.
CNN anchor Kasie Hunt said the decision tanked the Dow, worst day in over a year.

History

Historical Context

In 1979, amid stagflation and oil-price shocks, new Fed chair Paul Volcker began raising the federal funds rate, which climbed to a 20 % peak by June 1981 and drove inflation from 13.5 % in 1980 down to about 5 % by 1982. The 9-3, 2024 Fed vote led by Chair Jerome Powell and dissenters Neel Kashkari and Michelle Bowman mirrors that historic insistence on monetary independence.

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Story summary

The Federal Reserve (Fed) kept its policy rate at 3.5-3.75% despite President Donald Trump’s push for a cut.
The committee voted 9-3, with three presidents favoring a 0.25-point rise.
Robert Kuttner said three dissenting votes were dissent since 2016 and that inflation from Iran war and Trump’s tariffs may not be curbed by rates.
CNN anchor Kasie Hunt said the decision tanked the Dow, worst day in over a year.

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