Good Wednesday evening. In this edition: Fed raises interest rates amid persistent inflation; and House approves Russian sanctions bill.
Plus, House calendar, surgeon general nominee, Leon Black, AI and Iran war.
Interest Rates
The Federal Reserve voted unanimously to raise interest rates by a quarter point, the first hike in more than three years and the first rate move under new Fed Chair Kevin Warsh.
The vote by the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) puts the target range for the federal funds rate at 3.75%–4.00%.
The widely anticipated move comes as the Fed grapples with stubborn inflation, which has been further fueled by tariffs and a spike in energy prices due to the Iran war.
"Inflation remains elevated,"Mr. Warsh told reporters at a press conference. "Today's policy action will support a timelier return to the committee's 2% goal. This committee will deliver price stability."
Inflation has remained above the Fed's 2% target for years and has moved further in the wrong direction in recent months.
The PCE price index, the Fed's preferred inflation gauge, showed inflation at 3.7% in July compared with a year ago, up from 2.3% in April 2025, just before the president announced his sweeping tariffs.
The Strait of Hormuz's effective closure has caused energy prices to soar, with the national average for a gallon of gas now at $4.36, up from $4.06 a month ago and $3.18 a year ago, according to AAA.
Mr. Warsh noted that the overall economy remains strong, with unemployment low, allowing the Fed to focus on the other part of its dual mandate: price stability.
"The labor side of the Fed's congressional remit is in good shape," he told reporters. "Yet, for more than five years, inflation has been running above target. So, our predominant focus is on the price stability side of our mandate. The plain fact is that inflation is too high and has been for too long."
President Trump, who has been aggressively calling for lower rates since returning to office, refrained from directly criticizing Mr. Warsh or the Fed after its decision but demanded that the central bank slash interest rates to 1% "or less."
"Interest Rates in the United States should be 1%, or less, because we are the Best Credit in the World — BY FAR," he said on Truth Social. "LOWER THE INTEREST RATES FOR THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND FAST!"
Over the weekend, the president said the U.S. "should be paying the lowest interest rate in the world," and earlier this month threatened to cut off a broad swath of trade if the Fed didn't lower rates.
"LOWER THE RATE OR I'LL STOP TRADING WITH COUNTRIES WITH WHICH WE HAVE A DEFICIT, which the U.S. Supreme Court, in its ridiculous and very costly Tariff decision, strongly acknowledged 'the President' has an absolute right to do," he wrote on Sept. 4.
Mr. Warsh declined to weigh in when asked what his message to President Trump is after voting to hike rates.
"I've got nothing for you on a discussion with the president," he told reporters.
Central bankers are also projecting another quarter-point hike by the end of the year.
The so-calleddot plot of individual officials' expectations showed that 16 of the 18 participants expect another rate increase this year, with four of those seeing two more as possible, while two participants expected the committee to stop at one hike.
The House approved a sweeping Russia sanctions bill, sending the measure named in honor of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) to President Trump's desk.
The vote was 262–159, with seven Republicans joining 152 Democrats in opposition and 58 Democrats voting with 203 Republicans and independent Rep. Kevin Kiley (CA) in favor.
The legislation, which the Senate cleared 86–11 in August, would impose new sanctions on Russia, renew sanctions on Iran, and give the president new authority to impose tariffs on major buyers of Russian energy products.
It would allow the Trump administration to impose tariffs of up to 100% on imports from countries that are among the largest buyers of Russian oil and gas.
The bill also targets Russia's so-called shadow fleet, its network of aging tankers used to evade Western sanctions while exporting Russian oil, and extends sanctions on Iran that are set to expire at the end of the year.
The bill was delayed in the Senate for months amid concerns from the White House about anything that could hinder its negotiations with Russia, but the bill was fast-tracked following the unexpected death of its original lead sponsor, Sen. Graham.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky personally lobbied for the bill when he visited Washington for the late senator's funeral at the end of July.
House Democrats mostly opposed the legislation due to the new tariff authorities it provides to President Trump, despite their near-universal backing for Ukraine.
"Life is way too expensive in the United States of America. Why in the world would this Congress or the People's House give this president unfettered authority to visit more tariffs on the world that will have an adverse economic impact on the American people?" House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said on the floor. "I can't do it."
The measure now heads to President Trump, who intends to sign it into law.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) canceled votes scheduled for Thursday, opting to send lawmakers home early ahead of the midterm election recess. The move pushes consideration of Rep. Thomas Massie's (R-KY) resolution to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth until after the midterms and comes as calls grow on Capitol Hill for tougher AI regulations. Speaker Johnson had already cut legislative days from the calendar, which previously had the chamber in session through Oct. 1. The updated schedule means House members won't return to the Capitol until Nov. 9. "It's time for our members to go home to their districts and make their case to the American people," the speaker told reporters. The Senate is still scheduled to be in session through the end of the month, but leaders could also opt to go home early.
Dr. Nicole Saphier, the president's third surgeon general nominee, told senators at her confirmation hearing that she does not believe childhood vaccinations cause autism. "I don't know what causes autism, but I have not seen reputable evidence that would suggest that vaccines cause autism," she told Senate Health Committee Chair Bill Cassidy (R-LA), who then asked for a firmer answer. "There's a little bit of a wiggle room there, and I'm so sensitive," he told her. The lame-duck Republican, who's also a physician, then asked whether she agreed with President Trump's assertion that the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine could be "quite lethal." "As a physician, I can tell you that I do not believe the MMR vaccine to be lethal," Dr. Saphier replied. "I believe the MMR vaccine is our greatest tool for combatting measles and mumps."
The Houseunanimously approved a resolution to hold billionaire Leon Black in contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with subpoenas issued as part of its investigation of Jeffrey Epstein. The process moved quickly, with the House Oversight Committee voting 41–0 on Tuesday to refer the matter to the full House, which approved the resolution by unanimous consent Wednesday afternoon. The resolution refers Mr. Black, the former CEO of Apollo Global Management, to the Justice Department for possible criminal prosecution, though the department is under no obligation to act. The contempt action stems from Mr. Black's failure to appear for a Sept. 3 deposition before the Oversight Committee and to fully comply with a separate subpoena seeking nondisclosure agreements to which he was a party.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterrescalled for a "coordinated global effort" to mitigate the potential risks of the rapid development of artificial intelligence, warning that "the world cannot afford a race to the bottom on AI safety." "We cannot afford to ignore concerns that have been raised, especially by those on the frontlines of the development of AI," he said at a news conference ahead of next week's U.N. General Assembly. "National action is essential but global coordination is also indispensable, because AI does not stop at borders, and neither do its risks." Several of the industry's top leaders have sounded the alarm in recent days and have called for slowing the development of AI and stronger safeguards. President Trump, who views the AI race as a geopolitical battle between the U.S. and China, has dismissed concerns that AI could destroy the world as a "hoax" and opposes calls to slow its development.
ICYMI: House lawmakers voted late Tuesday night for a third time to end the war in Iran, delivering another bipartisan rebuke to the Trump administration over its handling of the conflict, which began in late February. The measure passed 220–204, with seven Republicans joining Democrats in voting to direct President Trump to bring the war to a close. Three more Republicans — Reps. Zach Nunn (IA), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (IA) and Nancy Mace (SC) — voted in favor of the resolution, joining Reps. Tom Barrett (MI), Warren Davidson (OH), Brian Fitzpatrick (PA) and Thomas Massie (KY), who had backed previous resolutions. In June, the House and Senate passed a separate resolution calling for the war to end, though the Trump administration, like previous administrations of both parties, views such resolutions as not legally binding.
For your radar…
Second lady Usha Vance speaks Thursday at an education summit hosted by the Reagan Institute in Washington, DC. Watch LIVE on C-SPAN at 11am ET.
C-SPAN is on YouTube. Subscribe today for live coverage, consequential moments, memorable exchanges and the political events everyone will be talking about.
