Fed holds rates at 3.5–3.75% with 4 dissents — most since October 1992 — in likely Powell's last meeting

The Federal Open Market Committee votes 8-4 to hold the federal funds rate at 3.5%–3.75% for the third straight meeting of 2026, in what is widely expected to be Chair Jerome Powell's last meeting leading the Fed. The four dissents are the most at any FOMC meeting since October 1992. Three regional bank presidents — Beth Hammack of Cleveland, Neel Kashkari of Minneapolis, and Lorie Logan of Dallas — dissent against the easing bias in the statement, arguing it is premature to signal future rate cuts given persistent above-target inflation. Fed Governor Stephen Miran, a Trump appointee who joined the board in September 2025, dissents in the opposite direction, voting in favor of a 25-basis-point rate cut. Powell announces at his post-meeting press conference that he will remain on the Board of Governors — whose term runs through January 2028 — even after Trump nominee Kevin Warsh is confirmed as the next Fed chair. Powell cites "unprecedented legal attacks on the Fed" by the Trump administration as his reason for staying, saying the threats "are ongoing." Inflation has remained above the Fed's 2% target for five straight years. Oil has returned above $100 per barrel due to the ongoing U.S.-Israel-Iran war. The Senate Banking Committee advances Warsh's nomination in a party-line vote the same day.