President Donald Trump was already eager for a Federal Reserve rate cut. If there were ever a moment for him to want one even more, it would be Wednesday, but his war with Iran may have blown it, driving up oil prices and reviving the inflation fears that make cuts harder to justify.

Few things shape what Americans can afford more than the Federal Reserve, even if most people rarely pay attention to it. The central bank doesn’t set the price of groceries or cars, but it does help determine how expensive it is to borrow money. And, right now, high rates are keeping mortgage payments, car loans and credit card bills painfully high.

When the Fed’s two-day meeting wraps up Wednesday, policymakers are widely expected to leave rates unchanged. 

Now, the Iran war is complicating not just this week’s decision but the path ahead if the conflict drags on and keeps oil prices elevated.

TRUMP VS THE FEDERAL RESERVE: HOW THE CLASH REACHED UNCHARTED TERRITORY

Tit-for-tat strikes in Iran and across the Middle East have helped push crude above $100 a barrel for the first time since 2022, rattling global markets and renewing concerns about tighter energy supplies.

That pressure is starting to hit consumers. As oil prices climb, gasoline and diesel prices are rising quickly — especially diesel, which often moves faster because of its close ties to freight and industrial demand.

THE UNLIKELY TOOL TRUMP IS EYEING TO TACKLE RISING OIL PRICES AMID THE IRAN CONFLICT

As of March 17, AAA put the national average for regular gasoline at $3.79 a gallon, up 88 cents from a month earlier, while diesel climbed to $5.04, up $1.39 over the same period.

Jet fuel is getting more expensive, too. 

For airlines, fuel is one of the biggest operating costs, so sustained increases could squeeze margins, push up ticket prices and add fresh strain to a travel season already complicated by the DHS shutdown.

OIL, GAS PRICES JUMP AS TRUMP FLIRTS WITH STRIKING IRANIAN OIL INFRASTRUCTURE

The pressure is showing up in housing, too. 

Mortgage rates have crept higher since the start of the Iran war. The benchmark 30-year fixed rate dipped below 6% in late February, its lowest level since September 2022, before rising higher to 6.26% as of March 16, according to data compiled by the Mortgage Bankers Association. 

At the same time, the Fed is grappling with a labor market that is starting to crack. Employers shed 92,000 jobs in February, defying expectations for job growth and muddying the outlook for policymakers.

That combination of stubborn inflation and a weakening labor market has only intensified pressure from Trump, whose promise to lower costs for Americans was a centerpiece of his campaign.

For months, he has pressed Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to lower interest rates, arguing that cheaper borrowing would spur growth and offer relief to American households. Fed officials, however, have signaled they want clearer evidence that inflation is cooling before cutting.

On Thursday, Trump pressed Powell to cut interest rates “immediately” as fallout from the conflict involving Iran fuels an energy price spike.

“Where is the Federal Reserve Chairman, Jerome “Too Late” Powell, today? He should be dropping Interest Rates, IMMEDIATELY, not waiting for the next meeting,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post using a mocking nickname for Powell. 

For Trump, the timing is brutal. 

He campaigned on lowering costs for Americans, but the conflict involving Iran is threatening to do the opposite — driving up energy prices, complicating the Fed’s path and putting fresh pressure on one of his core economic promises.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro blistered Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s command of the Iran War as if he’s “playing with toy soldiers” and condemned the way the Pentagon and White House are describing the military operation to the public.

Shapiro, who is running for reelection but is also seen as a 2028 Democratic presidential possibility, made the remarks on former Obama aide Jon Lovett’s podcast where he also said China is monitoring the Trump administration’s “weakness” as they carry out the Iran operation alongside Israel.

The Democrat said he is troubled with Hegseth’s management of the Department of War’s effort, noting that Pennsylvanians are part of the contingent involved in the Iran offensive.

“I also have a problem with the fact that the guy who is supposed to be in charge of this, Pete Hegseth, is wildly incompetent,” Shapiro said.

HEGSETH WARNS RUSSIA AS SIGNS POINT TO MOSCOW SHARING INTEL WITH IRAN

“He’s like an eight-year-old playing with toy soldiers every day. His language is so f—ing offensive.”

Shapiro said the administration talks about the operation in a way that is disrespectful of the “humanity in the region” and of the American soldiers involved, which he added includes Pennsylvanians.

He said Congress had its chance to check Trump and Hegseth’s power but instead decided to be “wildly weak and pathetic souls” who gave away authority.

“You absolutely cannot trust Donald Trump to wage this war,” Shapiro said, adding that the administration’s messaging did not settle on a singular reason for attacking Iran.

“First he told us it was to go after their nuclear arsenal … then he said we went to war because if we didn’t, Israel was going to strike first [and] Israel forced our hand … then it was regime change, and now we’re left with the son [of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei] who seemingly could be more dangerous than the father.”

DEMOCRATS BUCK PARTY LEADERS TO DEFEND TRUMP’S ‘DECISIVE ACTION’ ON IRAN

FEATURED IMAGE: https://cms.foxnews.com/wp/wp-admin/upload.php?item=7229525 

Shapiro said the Iranian regime is, however, everything that critics say it is, and that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is a “bad guy” who oversaw the largest export of terrorism worldwide while chanting “Death To America” for decades.

“These are bad people — it shouldn’t be hard to say that.”

But Shapiro said Trump “never once looked the American people in the eye, sitting in the Oval Office — where he should’ve been, not his swim club in Florida — and said to the American people ‘This is why we have to do this, this is the imminent threat’ — of which we’ve learned there is no imminent threat.”

Shapiro said America’s enemies are watching the war and seeing weakness instead of strength.

“President Xi in China, who is calculating every day about when he is going to make his move on Taiwan, saw the president of the United States not only not be able to rally the world around this cause … but couldn’t even rally his own people.”

He noted that while he has criticisms of former President George W. Bush‘s War on Terror, the Texas Republican properly rallied the public to the cause. 

Shapiro, who is Jewish, has also often broken with his own party over antisemitic displays from the far left amid the unrest in the Middle East — including condemnation of harassment of Jewish students at the University of Pennsylvania in West Philadelphia.

When asked about Shapiro’s comments, White House spokesperson Olivia Wales said that for 50 years, presidents of both parties have talked about eliminating the Iranian threat to the American people, but that Trump is the only one with the “courage to confront it.”

“President Trump has been clear about the goals of this operation: destroy the Iranian regime’s ballistic missile and production capacity, annihilate the Iranian regime’s Navy, end their ability to arm proxies, and guarantee that Iran can never obtain a nuclear weapon,” she said as Shapiro questioned the administration’s goals.

“Democrats will flip-flop on anything – even carrying water for a nation that chants ‘Death to America’ – in order to attack President Trump, but the President and his administration will always protect our Nation and put the American people first,” Wales added.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Pentagon for comment.

A Biden-appointed federal judge who drew Supreme Court intervention twice in a separate deportation case is facing fresh conservative backlash after temporarily blocking Trump administration vaccine policies on Monday.

Judge Brian Murphy’s ruling in the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts was the latest in a string of high-profile decisions that blocked administration policies and were later reversed on appeal, prompting sharp criticism from the Department of Justice and intensifying scrutiny of his record.

“How many times can Judge Murphy get reversed in one year?” Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche wrote on X. “The same day he is stayed for repeatedly refusing to follow the law, he issues another activist decision. We will keep appealing these lawless decisions, and we will keep winning.

“The question is, how much embarrassment can this Judge take?”

FEDERAL JUDGE RULES TRUMP’S ‘THIRD COUNTRY’ DEPORTATION POLICY IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL

Earlier Monday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit paused a decision by Murphy to block the Department of Homeland Security’s third-country deportation policy. Murphy’s decision had prevented DHS from deporting what court papers said could be thousands of illegal immigrants and followed the judge issuing similar, related decisions last year that were both rejected by the Supreme Court.

In the vaccine case, brought by medical organizations against Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Murphy issued a sweeping preliminary injunction, finding Kennedy likely broke the law by overhauling the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine policies. 

In both instances, Murphy’s decisions interfered with top Trump administration agenda items — cracking down on immigration and restructuring vaccine mandates — that raised eyebrows on the right.

Murphy’s decision in the vaccine case granted preliminary relief to the medical organizations by staying a January 2026 immunization schedule that reduced the number of vaccine requirements for children and invalidated a newly appointed vaccine advisory committee and the committee’s decisions while the lawsuit proceeds through the courts.

Quoting Carl Sagan, Murphy said in his order that science is “the best we have” and touted the efficacy of vaccines as he blocked the CDC’s new vaccine schedule.

DOJ APPEALS BIDEN-APPOINTED JUDGE’S BLOCK ON THIRD-COUNTRY DEPORTATIONS AFTER SUPREME COURT STEPS IN — TWICE

University of Minnesota law school professor Ilan Wurman questioned what he viewed as the judge’s “double standard.”

DOJ SAYS IT OWES DEPORTED VENEZUELANS NO DUE PROCESS, DARES COURTS TO INTERVENE

“When I litigated COVID cases against the government, the courts regularly said they had to defer to the public health experts,” Wurman said. “I assume there’s a good reason for the double standard here? Or are there some health experts federal judges in Massachusetts like more than others?”

Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., said Democrat-appointed judges sided with the Biden administration and progressive groups on transgender policies that took an expansive view of sex and gender, which Banks said flew in the face of science and did not jibe with Murphy’s ruling.

“Progressive district court judges claim RFK’s vaccine policies aren’t based on science yet had no problem with Biden’s radical gender policies. Seems like they’re the ones not following the science,” Banks said.

Murphy first gained headlines when the Supreme Court stayed Murphy’s injunction over the third-party deportation policy in a 6-3 order last June. The high court followed up with a rare, second 7-2 order a week later admonishing the judge for flouting its decision.

George Washington University Law professor Jonathan Turley observed at the time that Murphy had given “a stiff arm” to the Supreme Court.

“Regardless of your views on the merits, this system cannot function with such rogue operators at the trial level,” Turley said.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani referenced the “genocide” of Palestinians during a St. Patrick’s Day event Tuesday at Gracie Mansion.

Mamdani made the remarks at a breakfast honoring Irish New Yorkers, where he praised former Irish President Mary Robinson for her record on human rights and her support for Palestinians. 

“I say this as over the past few years, as we’ve witnessed a genocide unfold before our eyes, there has been deafening silence from so many,” Mamdani said. “For those who have long cared about universal human rights and the extension of them to Palestinians, silence, however, is nothing new – for Palestinians are so often left to weep alone. Yet former President Robinson has never been silent.”

Mamdani tied Irish history to broader themes of solidarity, calling it “no coincidence” and asking, “Who can better understand those who weep than those who have been made to weep for so long?”

MAMDANI’S WIFE LIKED SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS ‘CHEERING ON’ HAMAS’ OCT 7 MASSACRE OF ISRAELIS: REPORT

“The story of the Irish, both in Ireland and in New York City, is at one time a story of oppression, of subjugation, and of discrimination,” the mayor told attendees.

HAMAS REASSERTS CONTROL IN GAZA AS IRAN WAR DOMINATES REGIONAL ATTENTION AND GLOBAL FOCUS

Robinson spoke after Mamdani, describing St. Patrick’s Day as a celebration of Irish culture, music and laughter.

She acknowledged the ongoing suffering in conflict zones around the world, including Iran, Lebanon, Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, saying the holiday is also a time to recognize those “living under the shadow of war and suffering.”

POPULAR ST PATRICK’S DAY PARADES AROUND UNITED STATES

“For many Irish people, these realities resonate deeply, as the mayor has said. Our own history holds memories of famine, exile and conflict,” Robinson added. “Perhaps because of that many recognize echoes of Ireland’s past and the suffering of others today and the pain of displacement and the enduring human longing for dignity, justice and self-determination.”

The House Oversight Committee has formally issued a subpoena compelling Attorney General Pam Bondi to testify in a deposition as part of its investigation into the Justice Department’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case.

Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., issued the subpoena for Bondi to testify on “possible mismanagement of the federal government’s investigation of Mr. Jeffrey Epstein and Ms. Ghislaine Maxwell,” the cover letter for the subpoena released Tuesday read.

The committee voted earlier this month authorizing the move. Bondi is ordered to appear for a deposition April 14. Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche are scheduled to provide committee members with a private briefing Wednesday.

“The Committee has questions regarding the Department of Justice’s handling of the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein and his associates and its compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act,” Comer wrote, adding that Bondi is “directly responsible” for overseeing the review and release of related records.

The committee indicated the probe could lead to legislative changes aimed at strengthening federal anti-trafficking efforts and reforming the use of non-prosecution and plea agreements in sex-crime cases.

READ THE SUBPOENA COVER LETTER – APP USERS, CLICK HERE

Comer also underscored the panel’s authority to compel testimony, noting it has broad jurisdiction to investigate “any matter” and can require witness participation and document production as necessary.

The city council in New York City is weighing a proposal to boost the minimum wage to up to $30 — a move that newly elected Mayor Zohran Mamdani signaled that he would sign on the campaign trail — causing consternation among the business community.

The proposal from New York City Council Member Sandy Nurse, a Democrat representing Brooklyn, would require employers to pay workers $25 an hour if those employers provide qualifying benefits and $30 an hour if not. The current $17 minimum wage would undergo a phased increase to reach $30 per hour by 2030 for businesses with 500+ employees and $29 by 2032 for smaller businesses. 

Santiago Vidal Calvo, a policy analyst at the Manhattan Institute, told Fox News Digital that the new law will have “unintended consequences” and “constrain the economy for everybody that actually needs the current minimum wage to live.”

“You don’t make a place more affordable by making people earn more. That’s not directly correlated in the best way,” Calvo explained. “If you have people earning more, then prices are likely going to also increase, so my question for many of those people is, okay, you’re earning more, but also prices have increased in the same amount, are you actually making things more affordable?”

SMALL NEW YORK LANDLORDS ‘AT THEIR BREAKING POINT’ UNDER MAMDANI’S HOUSING POLICIES: REPORT

Calvo continued, “That’s one of the fallacies that a lot of people that don’t know about economics fall into. So many of these champagne socialists go and believe that increasing the minimum wage is going to solve everybody’s problems, because people are going to earn more and prices are going to stay the same. That’s Econ 101. That’s not going to happen. That’s why many socialist countries have failed around the world.”

The legislation echoes a prominent campaign pledge from Mamdani, who promoted a “$30 by ‘30” minimum wage message.

“In the world’s richest city, making the minimum wage shouldn’t mean living in poverty,” Mamdani posted on X last year. “As Mayor, I’ll work with City Council to raise the wage floor to $30/hour by 2030. When working people have more money in their pocket, the whole economy thrives.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Mamdani’s office for comment on whether he intends to sign the legislation if it were to arrive at his desk, but did not receive a response. 

THE SOCIALIST EXPERIMENT COMES TO NYC: MAMDANI’S VISION FOR A MORE AFFORDABLE CITY

While many proponents of raising the minimum wage argue that the cost of living in New York City makes it nearly impossible to comfortably live, business owners are warning that the increase will force a reduction in jobs for businesses that can’t absorb the wage increase, Wall Street Journal reported. 

In other states across the country, minimum wage laws have had adverse effects on lower-income workers, including in Los Angeles where Fox News Digital reported earlier this year the hotel industry is already cutting workers in response to a $30 minimum wage law that recently took effect.

Calvo told Fox News Digital that workers in certain industries, like fast food and healthcare will be “completely obliterated” by a $30 minimum wage and that “young and low income workers” will be “hurt the most.”

“We’re going to see a huge portion of the workforce just immediately disappear from the city and I think that people are underestimating how much certain sectors are going to suffer compared to others,” Calvo said. 

Calvo explained the importance of the Kaitz index, an economic indicator used to gauge where the minimum wage should be compared to the economy and that most economists agree the number should be between 0.4 and 0.55. 

“This proposal will likely put that Kaitz index at 1.1, which is, by many standards, if not highly interventionist, a huge economic blunder,” Calvo said.

Fox News Digital reached out to Councilwoman Nurse’s office for comment but did not receive a response.

President Donald Trump said Tuesday it’s a “good thing” that National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent resigned in protest of the Iran war because Kent thought “Iran was not a threat.”

“I read his statement,” Trump said during a meeting at the White House with Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin on St. Patrick’s Day. “I always thought he was a nice guy, but I always thought he was weak on security, very weak on security.”

Kent served under Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who has rejected “regime-change wars” for years.

“I didn’t know him well, but I thought he seemed like a pretty nice guy, but when I read his statement, I realized that it’s a good thing that he’s out,” Trump said. “Because he said that Iran was not a threat. 

“Iran was a threat. Every country realized what a threat Iran was. The question is whether or not they wanted to do something about it.”

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

President Donald Trump declared in a Tuesday Truth Social post that most NATO countries have noted that they do not want to jump into the U.S. attack against the Islamic Republic of Iran.

“The United States has been informed by most of our NATO ‘Allies’ that they don’t want to get involved with our Military Operation against the Terrorist Regime of Iran, in the Middle East, this, despite the fact that almost every Country strongly agreed with what we are doing, and that Iran cannot, in any way, shape, or form, be allowed to have a Nuclear Weapon,” the president declared in the Truth Social post. “I am not surprised by their action, however, because I always considered NATO, where we spend Hundreds of Billions of Dollars per year protecting these same Countries, to be a one way street — We will protect them, but they will do nothing for us, in particular, in a time of need.” 

He continued, “Fortunately, we have decimated Iran’s Military — Their Navy is gone, their Air Force is gone, their Anti-Aircraft and Radar is gone and perhaps, most importantly, their Leaders, at virtually every level, are gone, never to threaten us, our Middle Eastern Allies, or the World, again! Because of the fact that we have had such Military Success, we no longer “need,” or desire, the NATO Countries’ assistance — WE NEVER DID! Likewise, Japan, Australia, or South Korea. In fact, speaking as President of the United States of America, by far the Most Powerful Country Anywhere in the World, WE DO NOT NEED THE HELP OF ANYONE! Thank you for your attention to this matter.” 

The U.S. has been waging war against Iran in conjunction with Israel, a close American ally.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated.

Lawyers for Brian J. Cole Jr. claimed in a court filing Monday that President Donald Trump‘s sweeping presidential pardons for Jan. 6 defendants apply to him and the case should be dismissed.

Cole Jr. is accused of planting explosive devices at the Republican and Democratic National Committee headquarters on the eve of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Trump issued the pardons on his first day in office, Jan. 20, 2025.

The motion to dismiss was filed in U.S. District Court by Cole Jr.’s lawyers, arguing the government’s own narrative in the case “inextricably” tethers Cole to the events of Jan. 6, 2021.

“By the government’s own telling, this is exactly the kind of case that President Trump’s January 20, 2025 Presidential Pardon was invoked to reach,” defense attorneys Mario Williams and John Shoreman wrote.

EVIDENCE AGAINST J6 PIPE BOMB SUSPECT WAS JUST ‘SITTING THERE’ FOR YEARS, DOJ SAYS

The defense lawyers cited Department of Justice connections between the bombs and Jan. 6, including the “timing and location,” and the allegation that Cole Jr. drove to D.C. “to attend a protest concerning the outcome of the 2020 election.”

“The Pardon — like it or not — applies to Mr. Cole, based on the ordinary and plain meaning of the Pardon’s language as applied to the relevant facts in this case,” the 23-page motion to dismiss concluded.

DOJ MOVES TO WIPE STEVE BANNON CONTEMPT CONVICTION TIED TO JAN. 6 PROBE

“Wherefore, for the reasons stated above, Mr. Cole requests that this Motion be granted and the charges against him dismissed, in their entirety.”

The defense argues that because the 2025 Pardon applies to all individuals “convicted of offenses related to events that occurred at or near the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021,” Cole should be immune from prosecution.

To bolster their claim, Cole’s team pointed to the case of David Dempsey, who was sentenced to 20 years for what prosecutors described as “vicious and protracted” assaults on police officers. Despite being labeled a “domestic terrorist” by some officials, Dempsey received a full pardon.

The defense argues it would be a “grave injustice” to prosecute Cole — whose devices never exploded and caused no physical injury.

READ THE MOTION TO DISMISS – APP USERS, CLICK HERE:

The government is expected to challenge the motion.

Gov. Janet Mills of Maine on Tuesday launched a blistering negative ad that takes aim at twin controversies surrounding Graham Platner, her formidable rival for the Democratic Senate nomination in the crucial 2026 race to face off against Republican Sen. Susan Collins.

The ad features women reacting to comments Platner made over a decade ago on Reddit about rape, and it also points to a tattoo on his chest that resembled a Nazi symbol.

The Mills ad comes as Platner, a U.S. Marine and Army veteran and oyster farmer, who has the backing of progressive champion Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, is gaining momentum. According to recent polls, Platner holds a large lead over the governor with less than three months until Maine’s primary.

Democrats view Collins as vulnerable as she seeks a sixth six-year term in the Senate in the left-leaning Northern New England state, and the race is considered a must win for Democrats as they try to claw back the chamber’s majority from the GOP in this year’s midterms.

WHAT SUSAN COLLINS TOLD FOX NEWS AS SHE LAUNCHED HER RE-ELECTION BID

The Mills campaign spot highlights Graham’s comments, as an actor in a voice that resembles the candidate, reads snippets of them aloud. Among the comments is one from 2013, which Platner later deleted, that people concerned about rape should not “get so f—ed up they wind up having sex with someone they don’t mean to.”

Four women in the Mills ad respond to the comments, calling them, “a horrible thing to say,” “disgusting” and “disqualifying.”

PLATNER CONFRONTED ABOUT CONTROVERSIAL TATTOO 

The ad, which the Mills campaign says it’s spending six figures to run statewide on broadcast and cable TV and streaming, also spotlights Platner’s tattoo as it closes with video of him shirtless.

“The closer you look, the worse it gets,” the narrator in the spot says.

Platner said last fall that he got the skull and crossbones tattoo in 2007 while drinking with fellow Marines stationed in Croatia. He said that he covered up the tattoo with a new design after learning it resembled a Nazi symbol.

The candidate also apologized for his controversial Reddit posts after they made headlines last fall soon after he launched his Senate campaign.

“For those of you who have read these things and been offended, have read these things and seen someone that you don’t recognize, I am deeply sorry,” he said in a video that went viral.

IS THE REPUBLICAN SENATE MAJORITY AT RISK IN MIDTERM ELECTIONS?

Platner, 41, has campaigned in front of large and energetic crowds since jumping into the race, and seems to be gaining support from a Democratic base angry with President Donald Trump’s second-term agenda and mad at their party’s leaders in the nation’s capital. Platner is being advised by Morris Katz, who was a top consultant last year on New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s historic campaign.

Mills, who was urged by the party’s establishment to run for the Senate, has the tacit support of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

With the primary campaign heating up, the 78-year-old two-term governor and former Maine attorney general is getting more aggressive in spotlighting Platner’s political baggage, which she and other Democrats argue could cost their party their best shot ever at unseating Collins.

Platner’s campaign manager Ben Chin, in a statement responding to the Mills ad, argued, “This is nothing more than a desperate attempt for relevance from the governor, who is trailing an oyster farmer in every recent poll.”

“It’s why people hate politics and why not enough real people run for office: DC insiders who are so obsessed with their own power and threatened by someone who is building an actual movement of working people, that they launch a barrage of attacks to try to tear Graham down,” Chin added.

And he emphasized that “Mainers know that Graham should not be defined by the worst thing he said on the internet over a decade ago.”