Federal officials were in a "communication black hole" for the last week before the meeting, but before they went silent, members of the Federal Open Market Committee said they wanted to see how the economy would respond to Trump's tariffs before making any policy moves.

Tariffs pose a dual threat to the Fed's dual mandate to keep inflation low and employment high: they can not only raise prices through import taxes but can also harm the economy, potentially increasing unemployment. If inflation proves to be a greater threat, the Fed may keep interest rates higher for longer, or alternatively, it may lower rates to save the economy if the labor market starts to collapse.