Jerome Powell appears ready to shun politics, perhaps overseeing a rate cut by the central bank

Jerome Powell will take a lot of partisan fire this week if he sends, as expected, a signal that the fight against inflation is nearing its end by cutting interest rates — the first in four years.

It seems to be fine with him.

Political winds can change quickly, of course. But the Federal Reserve chair has put herself in a strong-willed position: The central bank she oversees appears capable of neutralizing critics in the days ahead even as it nears the climax of a year in which it simply has not had to navigate. A complicated economic picture, but also a heated 2024 election.

The debate has been ongoing for 14 months over when and how aggressively to start cutting interest rates. Powell and his colleagues appear to be deciding between cutting rates by 25 or 50 basis points when they meet this week.

Read more: What Fed Rate Decisions Mean for Bank Accounts, CDs, Loans and Credit Cards

Any one appears right in the middle of an array of alternative political voices.

Of course, former President Donald Trump would likely lash out at any sort of Fed “pivot” weeks before an election. But Trump has mixed criticism of Powell of late, and his campaign is more focused on cutting interest rates.

Perhaps most tellingly, Trump himself has recently been ignoring the central bank to focus elsewhere, and the topic didn't even come up in last week's debate.

Powell will also be dinged from the left, in their view, too long a wait. On Monday, three Democratic senators, including Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, called for a cut of even 75 basis points.

So they may also be dissatisfied.

Perhaps most importantly for Powell, as the economic evidence piles up in favor of cuts, a wide swath of the political spectrum on both sides is already indicating it's okay with the central bank's widely expected move.

Whether the Fed's strategy is right for the economy remains to be seen. But in politics as a whole, as the old expression goes, being attacked from both sides means you're doing something right.

Did Powell 'make a lot of mistakes'?

For Trump and his allies, recent months have been notable for criticism of Powell that has become more diffuse as the economic case for cuts has become harder to deny.

Donald Trump's last comment about the Fed came last month when he suggested Powell “got it wrong a lot,” but the former president also seemed undecided about how wrong Powell was, adding, “He tends to be a little late. On things, he Gets a little early and a little late.”

There seemed to be a change in tone for Trump from earlier this year when his attacks on Powell were more straightforward. He told Bloomberg in June that the cuts are something “they know they shouldn't do” after a February Fox Business interview when Trump said of the cuts, “I think [Powell’s] Probably going to do something to help the Democrats.”

As of Monday afternoon, Trump did not appear to have posted online or commented on the Fed in weeks, and one of his campaign comments focused more on cutting rates than past accusations of politicization at the Fed.

“Comlanomics has led to the fastest rise in mortgage rates since 1981,” alleged RNC spokeswoman Anna Kelly in a statement, adding that Trump would “rapidly lower mortgage and interest rates.”

Part of what seems to be happening is a sense among many — including a number of Trump allies — that a rate cut is not only inevitable but justified because of an under-performing labor market and inflation that is moving toward the Fed's 2% target.

Some of Trump's key allies have even cut ties with him directly on the issue. A recent Politico article found many top GOP lawmakers publicly saying interest rates are needed now.

“It's time to cut rates,” Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana told the outlet. The staunch Trump ally added that “this economy — especially the labor market — is softening very, very, very quickly.”

Meanwhile on the left…

The central bank's efforts to push back against Trump's political attacks may also be helped by ongoing criticism from the left.

Some liberal voices have long been critical of the Fed — and there's even a camp arguing that a 75 basis point cut is the way to go.

“Employment numbers adjust slowly, so the Fed should cut front-load rates to avoid a potential slide into crisis,” Sense wrote. John Hickenlooper, Warren and Sheldon Whitehouse called for these big cuts in their notes on Monday.

A growing criticism from that senator and others on the left is that too slow a Fed could increase the likelihood of a recession.

“You're really flirting with a potential disaster,” former Fed economist Skanda Amarnath said at a media briefing on Monday about a small interest rate cut. He is currently the executive director of a group called Employ America, and added “it makes a lot of sense for the Fed to move a little more decisively.”

Powell is all but certain not to concede, with traders currently split on whether to expect a 25 or 50 basis point cut. They say 0% chance of any other outcome this week.

As for the White House, Powell is unlikely to hear from the current administration publicly this week, with Vice President Kamala Harris recently reiterating her desire to let the Fed operate independently.

And White House National Economic Adviser Lell Brainard suggested in a speech to the Council on Foreign Relations on Monday that President Joe Biden “made a clear commitment to respect the Federal Reserve's independence in the fight against inflation.”

Others pointed out that if Powell wanted to influence the 2024 election, he would have cut in early.

“The only debate about politics between neutral Fed watchers and those with real money at stake is whether the Fed will be slow to cut rates for fear of the perception of politicization,” Harvard's Jason Furman said in a recent extended social media post. Why he thinks the central bank is avoiding electoral considerations and any criticism is “inconsequential political noise.”

For his part, Powell has long maintained that he's not paying attention to all the noise, however.

After the Fed's last meeting, a reporter asked if the Fed could remain apolitical for the rest of the election season.

“I absolutely do,” he quickly responded, adding that he and his colleagues would focus on economics alone. “We don't change anything in our approach to address other factors like the political calendar.”

Ben Warshkull is the Washington correspondent for Yahoo Finance.

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