Fed’s Powell to stay on as governor as central bank maintains rates as expected in World Economy News 30/04/2026 Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Wednesday said he was planning to stay on as a governor after his term as chief ends. His comments came after the central bank held interest rates steady as widely expected. Powell’s tenure as Fed chair ends in May, following which he will most likely be replaced by former governor and President Donald Trump’s pick, Kevin Warsh, who cleared a U.S. Senate Banking Committee vote on Wednesday and now faces a final confirmation vote. Fed sees most dissents since 1992 The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) maintained the federal funds rate at 3.50%-3.75% for a third straight meeting. However, in a notable development, there were four dissents to the Fed’s action, the highest since a central bank meeting in October 1992. Governor Stephen Miran preferred a 25 basis point cut. Meanwhile, three regional Fed bank presidents in Beth Hammack, Neel Kashkari, and Lorie Logan supported keeping rates steady, but did not support the inclusion of an easing bias in the FOMC’s statement “at this time.” “Recent indicators suggest that economic activity has been expanding at a solid pace. Job gains have remained low, on average, and the unemployment rate has been little changed in recent months. Inflation is elevated, in part reflecting the recent increase in global energy prices,” the FOMC said in a statement. “The Committee seeks to achieve maximum employment and inflation at the rate of 2 percent over the longer run. Developments in the Middle East are contributing to a high level of uncertainty about the economic outlook. The Committee is attentive to the risks to both sides of its dual mandate,” the FOMC added. “(Hammack, Kashkari, and Logan’s) dissent is striking since the statement’s language was not particularly dovish to begin with,” Bill Adams, chief U.S. economist at Fifth Third Commercial Bank, said. “The regional Fed presidents’ dissent is best understood as resistance to the White House’s campaign to pressure the Fed into cutting rates. They are emphasizing that the Fed will remain independent from political considerations, with or without Powell at the helm,” Adams added. The Fed’s decision comes at a time when surging oil prices due to the Middle East conflict have made their impact felt on headline inflation in the U.S. More possible inflationary pain ahead, along with a labor market that remains in a “low hire, low fire” environment, has made the central bank’s job complicated. Powell in his post-decision press conference said that policymakers were in a “good place to move in either direction” towards rate cuts or rate hikes depending on how the impact of surging oil prices due to the Iran war plays out. The Fed chair also said that the effects of the conflict on the U.S. would be substantially less than Europe or Asia, adding that the Fed was aware American consumers were dealing with high gas prices “all over the country.” Powell to stay on as governor, plans ’low profile’ A notable takeaway from Powell’s press conference was his assertion that he would stay on as a Fed governor even after his term as chief ends. His remark came on the same day the U.S. Senate Banking Committee voted to advance Powell’s chosen successor, Kevin Warsh, to a full Senate vote, setting up Trump’s pick for a final confirmation. “After my term as chair ends, I will continue to serve as a governor for a period