Federal Reserve cuts interest rates for the first time this year

The Federal Reserve is expected to cut interest rates Wednesday afternoon as it faces Trump attacks on its independence and slowing job growth.

The Federal Reserve announced a highly anticipated interest rate cut Wednesday, a move indicating that concerns about a slowing labor market now outweigh ongoing worries about inflation.

It's the Fed's first rate cut this year. Policymakers opted for a quarter-point cut to the central bank's benchmark rate, in line with expectations. It's now set at 4% to 4.25%.

"The labor market is really cooling off," Fed Chair Jerome Powell said at a news conference Wednesday after the announcement.

The Trump administration has mounted an unprecedented pressure campaign that has included attacks on Powell for not lowering rates sooner, as well as an effort to unseat a Biden-era Fed appointee over accusations of mortgage fraud.

But Powell and the Fed had resisted Trump's pressure, saying its dual mandate of keeping both unemployment and inflation low meant it needed to be careful not to overheat the economy and risk a return to rapidly rising prices.