He seems to believe if he “has a majority” of Fed governors, he can pressure them to make federal borrowing much cheaper. That approach would be highly likely to backfire in the long run.

But several saw the risks roughly balanced between prices and jobs, and a couple were more concerned about the labor market than inflation.

Officials downgraded their view of the U.S. economy, but Powell cited inflation risk and “many, many uncertainties left to resolve” as reasons not to lower interest rates.

His answers in hearings tomorrow and Wednesday may indicate what he’s thinking around interest rate reductions and loosening bank regulations.

In the Fed’s latest Beige Book survey, “all districts reported elevated levels of economic and policy uncertainty, which have led to hesitancy and a cautious approach to business and household decisions.”

“The economy is in a lot of flux, policy is in flux, there’s a lot of uncertainty. I think we’ll have to wait three to six months to start to see where this settles out.”