Fed meeting begins as Trump presses Powell amid criminal probe and political pressure

Jan. 28, 2026 — The Federal Reserve began a two-day rate-setting meeting on Wednesday as Chair Jerome H. Powell, who has spent much of the past month under siege from President Trump, prepared to answer questions at his post-meeting news conference; the Fed is expected to leave borrowing costs unchanged.

The Trump administration has unleashed a barrage of attacks on the central bank, including a criminal investigation into Mr. Powell, according to the report, and Mr. Powell has raised a rare public alarm about the future of the Fed amid the pressure. Mr. Powell has also sat in the Supreme Court audience while it weighed the fate of a fellow Fed governor whom Mr.

Trump has tried to oust on fraud charges that have never been filed or prosecuted, underscoring the political forces that the article says have encircled the Fed during Mr. Trump’s first year back in office. The Fed is expected to pause a series of gradual rate reductions as it attempts to tamp down inflation, which remains above its target.

Mr. Trump has continued to press for much lower rates, at times resorting to name-calling and insisting inflation has been defeated and affordability is a political hoax; he has said, "I’d like to see rates go down," claimed Mr. Powell "wants to keep rates as high as possible," and told a rally, "You’ll see rates come down a lot." What is known is that the meeting concludes Wednesday with Mr.

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