The US Federal Reserve on Wednesday lowered interest rates for the first time this year, flagging slower job gains and risks to employment as policymakers face heightened pressure under President Donald Trump.
The Fed cut the benchmark lending rate by 25 basis points, to a range between 4.0 percent and 4.25 percent, while penciling in two more potential cuts this year.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell stressed that the central bank remains "strongly committed" to maintaining its independence from politics, when asked about the addition of a key advisor to Trump among its ranks this week.
He added that the Fed was "right to wait and see how tariffs and inflation and the labor market evolved" before lowering rates for the first time in nine months.
Only new Fed Governor Stephen Miran -- who has been serving in the Trump administration — voted against the decision. He favored a larger rate reduction of 50 basis points.
The other 11 voting members of the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) supported the quarter-point cut.
This was the first rate meeting involving Miran, who had been chairing the White House Council of Economic Advisers. He was sworn in just before the two-day gathering started on Tuesday, after a swift Senate confirmation on Monday night.
The Fed faces competing pressures in adjusting rates, with Trump's sweeping tariffs fueling inflation risks while the job market weakens.
The Fed typically holds rates at higher levels to rein in inflation, but could slash rates to support the labor market too.
On Wednesday, the Fed lifted its 2025 growth forecast to 1.6 percent from June's 1.4 percent projection, while making no change to unemployment and inflation forecasts.
Trump has intensified pressure on the Fed this year, calling repeatedly for major rate cuts and criticizing Powell.
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