
Fed Holds Rates Steady and Ends the Powell Era Deeply Divided
From WSJ What’s News by The Wall Street Journal
April 29, 2026 · 12 min
About this episode
The episode discusses Jerome Powell's decision to remain on the Federal Reserve board, the implications of a Supreme Court ruling on voting districts, and the Pentagon's cost estimate for the Iran war.
P.M. Edition for April 29. In an unusual move, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said today that he plans to stay on the Fed’s board after his term as chair ends next month. WSJ economics reporter Matt Grossman explains Powell’s reasoning, and what divisions within the central bank could mean for interest rates. Plus a Supreme Court decision today limits how states use voters’ race to draw voting districts. James Romoser, who covers the Supreme Court for the Journal, says that could lead to a loss of Democratic seats in some states. And the Pentagon gives its first precise estimate for how much the Iran war has cost the military so far: $25 billion. Alex Ossola hosts. Sign up for the WSJ's free What's News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
People in this episode
Host: Alex Ossola
Guests: Matt Grossman, James Romoser
Topics covered
- Federal Reserve
- interest rates
- Supreme Court
- voting districts
- Iran war costs
Keywords
- Federal Reserve
- Jerome Powell
- Supreme Court
- voting districts
- Iran war
- interest rates
- Matt Grossman
- James Romoser
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Federal Reserve, Supreme Court, The Wall Street Journal
Places: Iran
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