BlockBeats News, May 17th, FOX reporter Charles Gasparino posted that the new Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Wash faced a dual challenge of soaring inflation and pressure from Trump for rate cuts at the beginning of his tenure. Consumer inflation has risen to an annualized level of 3.8%, the highest since May 2023, with the Iran war driving up energy prices as the main catalyst. Last week, wholesale prices surged even more than at the consumer end. On Friday, the futures market began pricing in rate hikes for the year, with previous expectations of rate cuts largely dissipating.

Wash himself is a staunch inflation hawk. After leaving the Fed in 2011 for an academic position, he has repeatedly criticized the era of "easy money" under Bernanke, Yellen, and Powell in op-eds, advocating for a more "restrained" policy to shrink the Fed's balance sheet. He believes that the Fed's loose policy over the years is the root cause of the current inflationary pressure. However, in the face of high inflation, his room for rate cuts is extremely limited.

Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve's rate-setting committee is no longer unified. Former Chair Powell, who was replaced by Trump, still retains voting rights as a board member. Powell stated that he would not leave until the dust settled on the congressional investigation into the building costs of the new Fed headquarters, an inquiry initiated by Trump that had previously delayed Wash's appointment process. While Trump appointed Wash and pressured for rate cuts, if Wash were to accede to his wishes, he would be in direct contradiction with his consistent policy stance. The Iran war has entered its third month with an uncertain outcome; once oil prices surpass $200 per barrel, the U.S. economy faces a risk similar to the "stagflation" of the 1970s.