By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER, Associated Press Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — In a sign of how unusual this week’s Federal Reserve meeting is, the decision it will make on interest rates — usually the main event — is just one of the key unknowns to be resolved when officials gather Tuesday and Wednesday.

For now, it’s not even clear who will be there. The meeting will likely include Lisa Cook, an embattled governor, unless an appeals court or the Supreme Court rules in favor of an effort by President Donald Trump to remove her from office. And it will probably include Stephen Miran, a top White House economic aide whom Trump has nominated to fill an empty seat on the Fed’s board. But those questions may not be resolved until late Monday.

FILE – Stephen Miran, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors, walks at the White House, June 17, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

Meanwhile, the U.S. economy is mired in uncertainty. Hiring has slowed sharply, while inflation remains stubbornly high.

So a key question for the Fed is: Do they worry more about people who are out of work and struggling to find jobs, or do they focus more on the struggles many Americans face in keeping up with rising costs for groceries and other items? The Fed’s mandate from Congress requires it to seek both stable prices and full employment.

For now, Fed Chair Jerome Powell and other Fed policymakers have signaled the Fed is more concerned about weaker hiring, a key reason investors expect the central bank will reduce its benchmark interest rate by a quarter point on Wednesday to about 4.1%.

FILE – Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, left, talks with Board of Governors member Lisa Cook, right, during an open meeting of the Board of Governors at the Federal Reserve, June 25, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)

Still, stubbornly high inflation may force them to proceed slowly and limit how many reductions they make. The central bank will also release its quarterly economic projections Wednesday, and economists project they will show that policymakers expect one or two additional cuts this year, plus several more next year.

Ellen Meade, an economics professor at Duke University and former senior economist at the Fed, said it’s a stark contrast to the early pandemic, when it was clear the Fed had to rapidly reduce rates to boost the economy. And when inflation surged in 2021 and 2022, it was also a straightforward call for the Fed, which moved quickly to raise borrowing costs to combat higher prices.

But now, “it’s a tough time,” Meade said. “It would be a tough time, even if the politics and the whole thing weren’t going on the way they are, it would be a tough time. Some people would want to cut, some people would not want to cut.”

Amid all the economic uncertainty, Trump is applying unprecedented political pressure on the Fed, demanding sharply lower rates, seeking to fire Cook, and insulting Powell, whom he has called a “numbskull,” “fool,” and “moron.”

Loretta Mester, a former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland and finance professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, said that Fed officials won’t let the criticisms sway their decisions on policy. Still, the attacks are unfortunate, she said, because they threaten to undermine the Fed’s credibility with the public.

“Added to their list of the difficulty of making policy because of how the economy is performing, they also have to contend with the fact that there may be some of the public that’s skeptical about how they’ve gone about making their decisions,” she said.

David Andolfatto, an economics professor at the University of Miami and former top economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, said that presidents have pressured Fed chairs before, but never as personally or publicly.

“What’s unusual about this is the level of open disrespect and just childishness,” Andolfatto said. “I mean, this is just beyond the pale.”

There are typically 12 officials who vote on the Fed’s policies at each meeting — the seven members of the Fed’s board of governors, as well as five of the 12 regional bank presidents, who vote on a rotating basis.

If a court rules that Cook can be fired, or Miran isn’t approved in time, then just 11 officials will vote on Wednesday. Either way, there ought to be enough votes to approve a quarter-point cut, but there could be an unusual amount of division.

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Miran, if he is on the board, and Governor Michelle Bowman may dissent in opposition to a quarter-point reduction in favor of a steeper half-point cut.

There could be additional dissenting votes in the other direction, potentially from regional bank presidents who might oppose any cuts at all. Beth Hammack, president of the Fed’s Cleveland branch, and Jeffrey Schmid, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, have both expressed concern that inflation has topped the Fed’s 2% targer for more than four years and is still elevated. If either votes against a cut, it would be the first time there were dissents in both directions from a Fed decision since 2019.

“This degree of division is unusual, but the circumstances are unusual, too,” Andolfatto said. “This is a situation central banks really don’t like: The combination of inflationary pressure and labor market weakness.”

Hiring has slowed in recent months, with employers shedding 13,000 jobs in June and adding just 22,000 in August, the government reported earlier this month. And last week a preliminary report from the Labor Department showed that companies added far fewer jobs in the year ending in March than previously estimated.

At the same time, inflation picked up a bit last month and remains above the Fed’s 2% target. According to the consumer price index, core prices — excluding food and energy — rose 3.1% in August compared with a year earlier..

With inflation still elevated, the Fed may have to proceed slowly with any further cuts, which would likely further frustrate the Trump White House.

“When you get to turning points, people can reasonably disagree about when to go,” Meade said.

Today is Monday, Sept. 15, the 258th day of 2025. There are 107 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Sept. 15, 2008, as a result of the subprime mortgage crisis, Lehman Brothers filed for Chapter 11 in the largest bankruptcy filing in U.S. history.

Also on this date:

In 1835, Charles Darwin reached the Galápagos Islands aboard the HMS Beagle.

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Today in History: September 14, Monaco princess dies of car crash injuries

In 1935, the Nuremberg Laws were enacted in Nazi Germany, depriving German Jews of their citizenship.

In 1940, the tide turned in the Battle of Britain in World War II, as the Royal Air Force inflicted heavy losses upon the Luftwaffe.

In 1958, a commuter train headed for New York City plunged into Newark Bay after missing a stop signal and sliding off the open Newark Bay lift bridge, killing 48 people.

In 1959, Nikita Khrushchev became the first Soviet head of state to visit the United States as he arrived at Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington.

In 1963, four Black girls were killed when a bomb went off during Sunday services at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. (Three Ku Klux Klansmen were eventually convicted for their roles in the blast.)

In 1978, Muhammad Ali became the first boxer to capture the heavyweight title three times, winning by unanimous decision in his rematch with Leon Spinks.

Today’s Birthdays:

Writer-director Ron Shelton is 80.
Actor Tommy Lee Jones is 79.
Film director Oliver Stone is 79.
Football coach Pete Carroll is 74.
TV personality Lisa Vanderpump is 65.
Football Hall of Famer Dan Marino is 64.
Actor Josh Charles is 54.
Olympic gold medal swimmer Tom Dolan is 50.
Actor Tom Hardy is 48.
Actor Amy Davidson is 46.
Actor Dave Annable is 46.
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, is 41.
TV personality Heidi Montag is 39.

It was always going to be a roller coaster with young quarterback J.J. McCarthy stepping into the spotlight for the Vikings.

There were going to be stretches where he looked really good like he did late in the 27-24 win over the Chicago Bears last week. There were also going to be stretches where he looked really bad like he did throughout the 22-6 loss to the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday night at U.S. Bank Stadium.

The blame wasn’t all on McCarthy’s shoulders, however, as the the offense couldn’t get much going in the aggregate. That spoiled a performane from the defense that should have been enough to earn a win.

Here are some takeaways from the Vikings’ 22-6 loss to the Falcons:

More growing pains for J.J. McCarthy

Truthfully, if McCarthy didn’t mount such an impressive comeback last week, the conversation surrounding him would be much more volatile right now. Though he certainly deserves credit for the way he led the Vikings to a win over the Bears, it shouldn’t be overlooked that he struggled for prolonged stretches in that game, too. There have been more lows than highs from McCarthy so far. The mistakes that plagued him against the Bears were on reared their ugly head against the Falcons when he completed 11 of 21 passes for 158 yards to go along with a pair of interceptions and a fumble. He needs to be more consistent from the jump. That’s the next step in his development. He can’t continue to ride the roller coaster like he has been to this point.

It’s time to lean on Jordan Mason

There were a few times against the Falcons that the Vikings simply should’ve given the ball to running back Jordan Mason. The most notable was when the Vikings had the ball in the low red zone with a chance to score a touchdown. Not once did Mason touch the ball on that sequence and they settled for a field goal. After acquiring the human bowling ball via trade, the Vikings would be wise to use him more. Not only does Mason have good vision with the ball in his hands, he has a 5-foot-11, 225-pound frame that should help take a load of McCarthy in the early stages of his career.

Not enough targets for Justin Jefferson

Maybe the best way to get McCarthy into a rhythm would be letting him throw to the best receiver on the planet as much as possible. There’s no reason star receiver Justin Jefferson should only have a half dozen targets in a game. That total should always be well into the double digits. The biggest play against the Falcons came when McCarthy found Jefferson over the middle for a gain of 50 yards. That came from making a concerted effort to let it rip, and while that worked in that specific situation, McCarthy should also be getting the ball into Jefferson’s hands closer to the line of scrimmage. Not everything for the Vikings has to be an intermediate route in space.

More injuries on offensive line

It’s getting ugly for the Vikings in the trenches on offense. Not only is star left tackle Christian Darrisaw still finishing up his recovery process, veteran center Ryan Kelly played against the Falcons before being placed in in concussion protocol, which thrust young center Michael Jurgens into action. It was a similar story for left tackle Justin Skule, who was placed in concussion protocol, prompting fellow left tackle Walter Rouse to step up. The makeshift group up front wasn’t ideal conditions for McCarthy as he gets acclimated to what life is like at the highest level.

Need to improve stopping the run

As much praise as the defense deserves for the way it played against the Falcons, it still gave up too many chunk runs, which resulted the unit allowing 218 yards on the ground. That’s way too much. If the Vikings continue down that path, they will eventually get blown out. Not every team is going to have to keep settling for field goal after field goal each time the reach the red zone.

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With the blessing of the mayor and the St. Paul City Council, as well as deep guidance from city lobbyists and department heads, the city of St. Paul delivers an elaborate laundry list of wants and needs each year to state lawmakers, spelling out the capital city’s legislative priorities in order of importance.

The Grand Casino Arena needs state bond funding for a remodel. The Como Zoo needs a new enclosure for its big cats. The mayor is pushing to ban semi-automatic guns and binary triggers from the city. The wish-list goes on, usually spanning some 20 pages or more of desired projects and changes to state law, from the elaborate to the mundane.

In an unusual bit of policy housekeeping, the city council on Wednesday is poised to require that City Hall be ready for next year’s legislative session with an approved agenda in hand by the first month of session. This year, it was not.

“Basically, this is just an attempt to codify something that has been standard practice, but this year wasn’t,” said St. Paul City Council President Rebecca Noecker on Friday. “We were getting questions from legislators about what the city’s priorities were. Some folks were asking, ‘Have you actually adopted your legislative agenda?’ That’s what actually takes it from a document that lobbyists are shopping around to the official will of the city.”

Last session

When the 2025 legislative session opened on Jan. 14, the city’s legislative agenda was still in limbo, getting passed around among city lobbyists and council members.

The council ultimately adopted the legislative agenda last April, making St. Paul likely the last city in the metro to finalize its policy priorities even as major state bills were hurdling toward completion.

“By April, things are moving into the final stage of negotiation,” Noecker said. “Last year got way, way too late. It wasn’t ready. It wasn’t put into our Legistar (software) by our intergovernmental relations team. We had it shopped around to council members, but it wasn’t ready for prime time, and we were asking about it.”

The city’s top asks this past year included the remodel of the Grand Casino Arena and the big cat enclosure at Como Zoo. Neither project went on to receive state funding.

A difficult end to 2024 and start to 2025

Likely adding to delays in getting the 2025 agenda approved, the final weeks of December were difficult ones for the city council, which was mired in a budget fight with the mayor’s office.

Also, January featured an unusual start to the legislative session as House DFL lawmakers refused to convene in the state Capitol while disputing leadership matters with Republicans.

The city charter spells out that city lobbyists may only lobby lawmakers on items with official city approval, said Brynn Hausz, the city’s intergovernmental relations director, on Friday.

The council “worked really closely with me on this ordinance, and I am perfectly happy with the deadline being put in place,” Hausz added. “Having the legislative agenda before the city council in December just makes for a better process. Then we have a lead-up to the legislative session to get our bills drafted. You can’t wait until January to start drafting bills and expect to get work done.”

Proposed amendment

The council’s proposed amendment to the city’s administrative codes requires the mayor’s staff to submit the city’s legislative agenda for council review no later than the first Wednesday in December. That carries the expectation that the council adopt the agenda by the time state lawmakers convene their regular session, and sets 30 days after the start of the session as a hard deadline.

Noecker noted the city’s legislative agenda can run more than 20 pages, making it a bit unwieldy.

“Successive administrations have put down their priorities, and it’s hard to take it off once it’s there, but if everything is a priority, then nothing is a priority,” she said. “We’d really like to get down to a one-page executive summary … with our few pushes for the year ahead, our short list.”

Also worth revisiting, Noecker said, is how the legislative agenda is organized. She’d like to see better separation between state bonding priorities, like the requested funding for the Grand Casino Arena remodel, as opposed to legislative priorities that might get lost in the shuffle.

The city had sought state permission to ban guns from all of its government buildings and install signs indicating so, especially outside libraries and rec centers, as schools and private businesses are already allowed to do. That request also was not approved.

The next regular legislative session is scheduled to begin Feb. 17.

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