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Greenhouse gas emissions in the United States rose last year, snapping a two-year streak of declines as cold winter temperatures drove demand for heating fuel and the AI boom led to a surge in power generation, a think tank said Tuesday.The 2.4 percent increase in the world’s largest economy came as President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress enacted a series of policies hostile to climate action, though the authors of the Rhodium Group report said the full impact of those decisions will only be felt in the coming years.Rich nations, including Europe’s largest economies Germany and France, are slowing the pace of planet-warming gas reductions even as global temperatures continue to soar, with 2025 set to be confirmed as the third-hottest year on record.US emissions fell in 2024 by 0.5 percent and in 2023 by 3.5 percent, after the economy rebounded from the Covid pandemic and emissions rose in both 2021 and 2022, by 6.3 percent and 1.2 percent respectively.Building emissions rose 6.8 percent, followed by the power sector where emissions increased by 3.8 percent, the report found.”Weather is bumpy year-to-year — we tend to see building emissions bump around like this due to higher fuel use for heating,” Rhodium Group analyst and the report’s co-author Michael Gaffney told AFP.”But in the power sector this is about growing significant demand from data centers, cryptocurrency mining operations and other large load customers,” he added.Compounding matters, high natural gas prices driven by heating demand and increasing liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports allowed a comeback for coal, the “dirtiest” fossil fuel, which accounted for 13 percent more electricity generation than in 2024.Still, solar had a strong year, surging by 34 percent and helping lift the grid share of zero-emitting power sources by one percentage point to a record-high 42 percent — even as wind growth slowed and nuclear and hydropower output held steady.In transport, the highest-emitting sector, emissions were nearly flat despite a fifth straight year of record road traffic, as the vehicle fleet became more efficient and consumers rushed to buy electric and hybrid vehicles before tax credits expired.- Solar energy up -The United States is the world’s second-largest emitter after China, but has the highest cumulative emissions since the start of the industrial era in the mid-19th century.US greenhouse gas emissions have generally trended downward since peaking in 2007, averaging a decline of around one percent per year despite periods of flat or rising emissions, driven by natural gas replacing coal, a growing share of renewables in power generation, improved energy efficiency and more.Since taking office, Trump has declared war on renewable energy — from abruptly halting wind farm permits to signing into law legislation that brought an early end to clean energy tax credits and revoking electric vehicle incentives.He has also opened more public lands to drilling, while his administration has sought to repeal regulations aimed at limiting emissions of the super-pollutant methane from oil and gas facilities.But co-author Ben King told AFP that growth in solar generation and electric vehicle sales still pointed to “sustained progress.”What this all means for the medium and long term remains unclear, though the United States is far off track to meet its previous Paris Agreement target of cutting emissions 50–52 percent by 2035 relative to 2005 levels, set under former president Joe Biden.”Solar, wind, batteries, these are some of the cheapest things to bring onto the grid right now and some of the most available things,” said King.”So there’s some economic impetus to be doing that, regardless of whether the White House or Congress, or whoever likes it or doesn’t.”The Rhodium Group generates its annual estimates using a combination of official data and — because government greenhouse gas inventories have a significant lag — supplements this with modeling based on economic and power-generation data.But since the Trump administration is no longer expected to collect relevant data, future forecasts are set to become more difficult.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to take Greenland by force from NATO ally Denmark in order to keep the Arctic island from Beijing’s hands.But analysts suggested China is a small player in the Arctic region, and thus far from the threat Trump has argued.Here is what we know about Beijing’s presence in the region:- Covered with Chinese ships? -Despite Trump’s claim that, without US intervention, Greenland would have “Chinese destroyers and submarines all over the place”, Beijing’s Arctic military presence is underwhelming.”Greenland is not swarming with Chinese and Russian vessels. This is nonsense,” said to Paal Sigurd Hilde at the Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies.In other parts of the Arctic, China’s modest military presence has grown in collaboration with Russia since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.”China’s only pathway to gaining significant influence in the Arctic goes through Russia,” Hilde said.The two countries have increased joint Arctic and coast guard operations, including a 2024 bomber patrol near Alaska.China also operates a handful of icebreakers equipped with deep-sea mini-submarines, which could map the seabed — potentially useful for military deployment — and satellites for Arctic observation.Beijing says they are for scientific research.- Is China’s influence growing? -These activities are “potential security concerns if China’s military or military-linked assets establish a regular presence in the region”, said Helena Legarda at the Mercator Institute for China Studies in Berlin.”China has clear ambitions to expand its footprint and influence in the region, which it considers… an emerging arena for geopolitical competition,” she said.Beijing launched the Polar Silk Road project in 2018 — the Arctic arm of its transnational Belt and Road infrastructure initiative — and aims to become a “polar great power” by 2030.It has established scientific research stations in Iceland and Norway, while Chinese firms have invested in projects like Russian liquefied natural gas and a Swedish railway line.Competition with China for resources and access to trade routes in the Arctic could threaten European interests, Legarda said.Recently, however, China has faced pushback. Proposals to buy an abandoned naval station in Greenland and an airport in Finland have failed.The US reportedly pressured nations to reject Chinese companies. In 2019, Greenland opted against using China’s Huawei for its 5G networks.Russia remains the exception, with China investing heavily in resources and ports along Russia’s northern coast.- What is China seeking? -Greenland has the world’s eighth-largest rare earth reserves, elements vital for technologies including electric vehicles and military equipment, according the US Geological Survey.While China dominates global production of these critical materials, its attempts to tap Greenland’s resources have seen limited success.A Chinese-linked project at a massive deposit in Kvanefjeld was halted by the Greenland government in 2021 over environmental concerns, while another deposit in southern Greenland was sold to a New York-based firm in 2024 after US lobbying.”There was a fear in Denmark and the US that mining investments several times the GDP of Greenland could have led to Chinese influence a decade ago, but the investments never materialised,” said Jesper Willaing Zeuthen, associate professor at Aalborg University.More recently, “Beijing discourages engagement, because the diplomatic costs have been too high”.- Transforming shipping routes -The Polar Silk Road aims to link China to Europe via Arctic routes increasingly accessible as warming temperatures melt Arctic sea ice.China and Russia agreed in October to develop the Northern Sea Route (NSR) along Russia’s northern border.Last year, a Chinese ship reached Britain in 20 days via the Arctic, half the time of the regular Suez Canal route.The passage could transform global shipping and reduce Chinese reliance on the Straits of Malacca for its trade.But ships have to be modified to travel through ice, fog makes navigation difficult, and the weather is extreme.Chinese ships made just 14 NSR voyages last year, mostly carrying Russian gas.Another possible route — the Northwest Passage — follows the Canadian archipelago, potentially mitigating the risks of a Russian and Chinese-dominated northern passage.The NSR does not pass by Greenland, so it is not the source for Trump’s claim of Chinese ships prowling the island’s coastline.Zeuthen maintains there is no sign of Chinese military activity in or around the Arctic part of Greenland.”Actual security issues are very hard to identify,” he said.

Australia said Tuesday its ambassador to the United States is leaving after a three-year tenure overshadowed by President Donald Trump’s verdict on him: “I don’t like you either.”Former prime minister Kevin Rudd, who departs his post on March 31 to become president of the Asia Society think tank in New York, had sharply criticised Trump while he was out of office.Trump expressed disdain for Rudd during a televised US-Australia meeting at the White House in October last year, prompting some Australian opposition calls for his posting to be ended.Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said it was “entirely” Rudd’s decision to step down a year early.”Kevin Rudd has a work ethic unlike anyone I have ever met. He has worked tirelessly. He’s moving on to a role that he believes is pivotal,” he told reporters.The prime minister praised Rudd for his “tireless work” for Australia, including lobbying in favour of the so-called AUKUS agreement to equip Australia’s navy with nuclear-powered submarines.Before taking up his post in Washington, Rudd had described Trump as the “most destructive president in history” and a “traitor to the West” who “drags America and democracy through the mud”.Rudd deleted the online comments after Trump won back the White House in November 2024.At the White House meeting in October, the US president suggested Rudd might want to apologize for his earlier remarks.Turning to Albanese at his side, Trump said, “Where is he? Is he still working for you?”Albanese smiled awkwardly before gesturing to Rudd, who was sitting directly in front of them.Rudd began to explain, “That was before I took this position, Mr. President.”Trump cut him off, saying, “I don’t like you either. I don’t. And I probably never will.”Rudd, a Mandarin-speaking former career diplomat, had been tapped as ambassador during Joe Biden’s presidency, with Australia hoping his expertise on China would gain him influence in Washington.

US President Donald Trump announced a 25 percent tariff on any country doing business with Iran, ramping up pressure as a rights group estimated a crackdown on protests has killed at least 648 people.Trump, who has repeatedly threatened Iran with military intervention, said in a social media post on Monday that the new levies would “immediately” hit the Islamic republic’s trading partners who also do business with the United States.”This Order is final and conclusive,” he wrote, without specifying who they will affect. Iran’s main trading partners are China, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Iraq, according to economic database Trading Economics.Trump has been mulling his options on Iran, which has been roiled by more than two weeks of demonstrations that have defied a near-total internet blackout and lethal force.Sparked by economic grievances, the nationwide protests have grown into one of the biggest challenges yet to the theocratic system that has ruled Iran since the 1979 Islamic revolution ousted the shah.Iranian authorities have blamed foreign interference for stoking the unrest and staged their own nationwide counter-rallies.Rights groups warned that the severed communications were aimed at masking a rising death toll. The Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights (IHR) said it had confirmed 648 people killed during the protests, including nine minors, but warned the death toll was likely much higher — “according to some estimates more than 6,000”.The internet shutdown has made it “extremely difficult to independently verify these reports”, IHR said, adding that an estimated 10,000 people had been arrested. “The international community has a duty to protect civilian protesters against mass killing by the Islamic republic,” said IHR director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam. The White House said Monday that Trump remained “unafraid” to deploy military force against Iran, but was pursuing diplomacy as a first resort.  – ‘Four-front war’ -Iran on Monday sought to regain control of the streets with mass nationwide rallies that supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei hailed as proof that the protest movement was defeated.In power since 1989 and now 86, Khamenei said the pro-government turnout was a “warning” to the United States. “These massive rallies, full of determination, have thwarted the plan of foreign enemies that were supposed to be carried out by domestic mercenaries,” he said, according to state TV, referring to pro-government demonstrations. In the capital Tehran, state TV showed people brandishing the national flag and prayers read for victims of what the government has termed “riots”. At Enghelab (Revolution) Square, parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf told the crowd that Iran was fighting a “four-front war” listing economic war, psychological war, “military war” with the United States and Israel, and “today a war against terrorists” — a reference to the protests. Flanked by the slogans “Death to Israel, Death to America” in Persian, he vowed the Iranian military would teach Trump “an unforgettable lesson” if attacked. But Trump said Sunday that Iran’s leadership had called him seeking “to negotiate”.Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told a conference of foreign ambassadors in Tehran that Iran was “not seeking war but is fully prepared for war”, while calling for “fair” negotiations.Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said a channel of communication was open between Araghchi and Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff despite the lack of diplomatic relations. Reza Pahlavi, the US-based son of Iran’s ousted shah who has been vocal in calling for protests, told CBS news the government was “trying to trick the world into thinking that (it) is ready to negotiate once again”. He said Trump was “a man that means what he says and says what he means” and who “knows what’s at stake”.”The red line that was drawn has been definitely surpassed by this regime.” – ‘Respect for their rights’ -State outlets were at pains to present a picture of calm returning in Tehran, broadcasting images of smooth-flowing traffic. Tehran Governor Mohammad-Sadegh Motamedian insisted in televised comments that “the number of protests is decreasing”. Iranian state media has said dozens of members of the security forces have been killed, with their funerals turning into large pro-government rallies. The government has declared three days of national mourning for those killed.The European Union has voiced support for the protesters and on Monday said it was “looking into” imposing additional sanctions on Iran over the repression of demonstrations. The European Parliament also announced it had banned all Iranian diplomats and representatives from the assembly’s premises. French President Emmanuel Macron issued a statement condemning “the state violence that indiscriminately targets Iranian women and men who courageously demand respect for their rights”. Tehran ally Russia, for its part, slammed what it called attempts by “foreign powers” to interfere in Iran, state media reported, in Moscow’s first reaction to the protests.

Beyond smart watches and rings, artificial intelligence is being used to make self-testing for major diseases more readily available — from headsets that detect early signs of Alzheimer’s to an iris-scanning app that helps spot cancer.”The reason preventive medicine doesn’t work right now is because you don’t want to go to the doctor all the time to get things tested,” says Ramses Alcaide, co-founder and CEO of startup Neurable.”But what about if you knew when you needed to go to the doctor?”Connected rings, bracelets and watches — which were everywhere at last week’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas — can already monitor heart rate, blood pressure and glucose levels, with varying degrees of accuracy.These gadgets are in high demand from consumers. A recent study published by OpenAI showed that more than 200 million internet users check ChatGPT every week for information on health topics.On Wednesday, OpenAI even launched a chatbot that can draw on a user’s medical records and other data collected by wearable devices, with their consent, to inform its responses.Using electroencephalogram (EEG) technology, Neurable has developed a headset that records and deciphers brain activity.The linked app compares data with the user’s medical history to check for any deviation, a possible sign of a problem, said Alcaide.”Apple Watch can pick up Parkinson’s, but it can only pick it up once you have a tremor,” Alcaide said. “Your brain has been fighting that Parkinson’s for over 10 years.”With EEG technology, “you can pick these things up before you actually see physical symptoms of them. And this is just one example.”- Detection before symptoms -Some people have reservations about the capabilities of such devices. “I don’t think that wearable EEG devices are reliable enough,” said Anna Wexler, a University of Pennsylvania professor who studies consumer detection products, although she acknowledges that “AI has expanded the possibilities of these devices.”While Neurable’s product cannot provide an actual diagnosis, it does offer a warning. It can also detect signs of depression and early development of Alzheimer’s disease.Neurable is working with the Ukrainian military to evaluate the mental health of soldiers on the front lines of the war with Russia, as well as former prisoners of war, in order to detect post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).French startup NAOX meanwhile has developed EEG earbuds linked to a small box that can help patients with epilepsy.Rather than detect seizures, which are “very rare,” the device recognizes “spikes” — quick, abnormal electrical shocks in the brain that are “much more difficult to see,” said NAOX’s chief of innovation Marc Vaillaud, a doctor by training.NAOX’s device — which has been cleared by the US Food and Drug Administration — is designed to be worn at night, to track several hours of data at a time.The company is working with the Rothschild and Lariboisiere hospitals in Paris to try to better understand the links between these brain “spikes” and Alzheimer’s disease, which have been raised in scientific papers.Advances in AI and technology in general have paved the way for the miniaturization of cheaper detection devices — a far cry from the heavy machinery once seen in medical offices and hospitals.IriHealth is preparing to launch, for only about $50, a small smartphone extension that would scan a user’s iris.The gadget relies on iridology, a technique by which iris colors and markings are believed to reveal information about a person’s health, but which is generally considered scientifically unreliable.But the founders of IriHealth — a spin-off of biometrics specialist IriTech — are convinced that their device can be effective in detecting anomalies in the colon, and potentially the lungs or the liver.Company spokesman Tommy Phan said IriHealth had found its device to be 81 percent accurate among patients who already have been diagnosed with colon cancer.

Former Federal Reserve chiefs on Monday sharply criticized a US criminal probe into current chair Jerome Powell, calling it an “unprecedented attempt” to undermine the central bank’s independence.Two Republican senators joined in rebuking the Trump administration and questioned the credibility of the Department of Justice (DOJ) in targeting Powell, whom the US president has long sought to replace in a push for lower interest rates.On Sunday, Powell revealed that the Fed received grand jury subpoenas and threats of a criminal indictment relating to Senate testimony he gave in June.The issue at hand was a $2.5 billion renovation of the Fed’s headquarters. Last year, President Donald Trump floated the possibility of firing Powell over cost overruns for the historic buildings’ facelift.On Monday, ex-Fed chiefs Ben Bernanke, Alan Greenspan and Janet Yellen joined other former economic leaders in slamming the DOJ’s probe.In a joint statement, they called it “an unprecedented attempt to use prosecutorial attacks” to undermine the Fed’s independence.”This is how monetary policy is made in emerging markets with weak institutions, with highly negative consequences for inflation and the functioning of their economies more broadly,” the statement added. “It has no place in the United States.”In an extraordinary statement on Sunday, Powell himself rebuked the administration, dismissing the building renovation and his testimony before Congress as “pretexts.””The threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the president,” he said.He vowed to carry out his duties “without political fear or favor.”Separately, New York Fed President John Williams said that historic precedent of political influence on monetary policy typically leads to “unfortunate” outcomes like inflation.- Stocks hit records -Despite worries spurred by the probe, US stock indices closed at records. “The fact that market measures of inflation expectations have remained calm indicates that markets are brushing off the investigation as having little, if any, impact on Fed independence,” said Bernard Yaros, lead US economist at Oxford Economics.The independent Fed has a dual mandate to keep prices stable and unemployment low. Its main tool is setting a benchmark interest rate that influences the price of US Treasury bonds and borrowing costs.Trump has regularly slammed Powell, calling him a “numbskull” and “moron” for the Fed’s policy decisions and not cutting borrowing costs more sharply.On Monday, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told Fox News that Powell “has proven he’s not very good at his job.””As to whether he’s a criminal, that’s an answer the Department of Justice is going to have to find,” she said.- Republican pushback -The DOJ’s probe has drawn criticism from both sides of the political aisle.Republican Thom Tillis, who sits on the Senate Banking Committee, vowed Sunday to oppose the confirmation of any Fed nominee, including for the next Fed chief, until the legal matter is “fully resolved.””It is now the independence and credibility of the Department of Justice that are in question,” he said.Another Republican senator, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, supported Tillis’ move, calling the investigation “nothing more than an attempt at coercion.”Top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer earlier dubbed the probe an assault on the Fed’s independence.David Wessel, a senior fellow at Washington think tank the Brookings Institution warned of serious consequences if the Fed came under Trump’s control.Elected politicians could be inclined to set interest rates low to boost the economy ahead of elections, for instance.If Trump succeeds in influencing the Fed, the US economy could see “more inflation, and the willingness of global investors to lend money to the Treasury will diminish somewhat,” Wessel told AFP.Trump nominated Powell as Fed chair during his first presidency. Powell’s term as chair ends in May, but he could stay on the Fed’s board until 2028.Last year, Trump separately attempted to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook over mortgage fraud allegations.

The US Supreme Court on Tuesday wades into the hot-button issue of transgender athletes in girls’ and women’s sports.The conservative-dominated court is to hear challenges to state laws in Idaho and West Virginia banning transgender athletes from female competition.More than two dozen US states have passed laws in recent years barring athletes who were assigned as male at birth from taking part in girls’ or women’s sports.The Idaho case to be heard by the nine justices stems from the Republican-led state’s 2020 “Fairness in Women’s Sports Act.”The act was challenged by a transgender athlete at an Idaho university, and lower courts ruled that it violates the equal protection clause of the US Constitution.West Virginia’s 2021 Save Women’s Sports Act was challenged by a middle school student who was not allowed to compete for the girls’ track team.An appeals court ruled that the ban amounted to discrimination on the basis of sex and violated Title IX, the federal civil rights law which prohibits sex-based discrimination in educational programs.Last February, President Donald Trump issued an executive order aimed at banning transgender athletes from girls’ and women’s sports after campaigning for the White House on the issue.”From now on women’s sports will be only for women,” Trump said. “With this executive order the war on women’s sports is over.”The executive order allows federal agencies to deny funding to schools that allow transgender athletes to compete on girls’ or women’s teams.- UPenn case a lightning rod -University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas became a lightning rod in the debate over transgender athletes in women’s sports after competing in female collegiate meets in 2022. Critics and some fellow swimmers said Thomas, who had earlier swum on UPenn’s men’s team, should not have been allowed to compete against women due to an unfair physiological advantage.UPenn eventually agreed to ban transgender athletes from its women’s sports teams, settling a federal civil rights complaint stemming from the furor around Thomas.The move followed an investigation by the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights which found the university had violated Title IX by allowing Thomas to compete in women’s competitions.Conservatives outnumber liberals six to three on the Supreme Court, and the justices weighed in on two high-profile transgender cases last year.They upheld a Tennessee state law banning gender-affirming medical treatment for transgender minors and backed a move by Trump to have transgender troops dismissed from the military.The Supreme Court is expected to rule in June or early July.

The US state of Minnesota sued the Trump administration on Monday over the immigration crackdown that saw a woman protester fatally shot by a federal agent in Minneapolis last week.Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, who announced the lawsuit, said the Department of Homeland Security’s surge of immigration officers into the Democratic-led northern state in recent days has “made us less safe.””Thousands of poorly trained, aggressive and armed agents of the state, of the federal government, have rolled into our communities,” Ellison said at a press conference.”The obvious targeting of Minnesota for our diversity, for our democracy and our differences of opinion with the federal government, is a violation of the Constitution and federal law,” he said.”This is, in essence, a federal invasion.”Jacob Frey, the mayor of Minneapolis, where 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good was killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent on Wednesday, said Republican President Donald Trump was targeting Minnesota for his immigration crackdown because of its Democratic leadership.”If the goal were simply to look for people who are undocumented, Minneapolis and Saint Paul would not be the place you would go,” Frey said. “There are countless more people that are undocumented in Florida and Texas and Utah,” the mayor said, but those states, he noted, are Republican-controlled.Illinois, another Democratic-ruled state targeted by the Trump administration for its immigration crackdown, filed a similar suit against the federal government on Monday.Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, in television interviews on Sunday, defended the actions of the ICE officer who shot and killed Good, an American citizen.Noem said the officer acted in self-defense when Good drove her car at him, a narrative strongly disputed by local officials who point to footage from the scene showing Good’s vehicle turning away from the agent.Noem also said that hundreds more federal agents were heading to Minneapolis, where there have been daily protests and vigils mourning Good’s death.

Hawaii’s Kilauea was spraying a spectacular fountain of lava on Monday, keeping up its reputation as one of the world’s most active volcanoes.For over a year now, Kilauea has been regularly throwing out thousands of tonnes of molten rock and gases since it burst to life in December 2024.Volcanologists with the US Geological Survey said the incandescent lava was being hurled more than 1,500 feet (460 meters) into the air, with plumes of smoke and gases rising as high as 20,000 feet (six kilometers).Eruptions such as this one tend to last around one day, the USGS said, but can still vent up to 100,000 tonnes of sulfur dioxide.This gas reacts in the atmosphere to create a visible haze known as vog — volcanic smog — which can cause respiratory and other problems.Tiny slivers of volcanic glass, known as “Pele’s hair,” are also being thrown into the air.Named after Pele, the Hawaiian goddess of volcanoes, the strands can be very sharp and can cause irritation to the skin and eyes.The eruption poses no immediate danger to any human settlement, with the caldera having been closed to the public for almost two decades.Kilauea has been very active since 1983 and erupts relatively regularly.It is one of six active volcanoes located in the Hawaiian Islands, which also include Mauna Loa, the largest volcano in the world.Kilauea is much smaller than neighboring Mauna Loa, but it is far more active and regularly wows helicopter-riding tourists who come to see its red-hot shows.

US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has generally avoided escalation in the face of Donald Trump’s relentless criticism — but in recent months, the central banker has become a rare figure to publicly resist his attacks.The change of tack was especially pronounced on Sunday night, when Powell accused the Trump administration of threatening him with prosecution to push the Fed into cutting interest rates. He warned that a new Department of Justice investigation targeting him was a threat to the central bank’s independence.”What made the statement so powerful is how rare it is,” Jason Furman, a top economic adviser to former US president Barack Obama, told AFP.”A year ago, Powell got a question about Donald Trump and the Fed, and gave a one-word answer,” added Furman, now a professor at Harvard University. “He has not wanted to be baited into a fight.”The fact that Powell felt the need to respond forcefully now “conveys just how serious the issue is,” Furman said.Powell, a 72-year-old former investment banker, took the helm at the Fed in 2018 after he was tapped by Trump to replace Janet Yellen. It was Trump’s first presidency.Powell then withstood months of withering attacks from Trump for raising interest rates.When Covid-19 took hold in 2020, the Fed rapidly slashed its benchmark rate to zero and rolled out new support measures, moves that helped to prevent a more severe downturn.His tenure won him praise and criticism from all sides as he maintained the central bank’s independence.Over that tumultuous period, Powell, who is also called “Jay,” managed to forge consensus among the diverse members of the Fed’s rate-setting committee.In 2021, the wealthy Republican with no formal economics training was nominated by Democratic President Joe Biden to lead the Fed for a second term.He proceeded to oversee a series of sharp rate hikes in 2022 to curb surging inflation after the pandemic, before beginning to cautiously lower rates again in 2024 and 2025 as he eyed the price effects from Trump’s sweeping new tariffs.- ‘The guy who stood up’ -Less than a year before his time as Fed chair expires in May 2026, however, Powell has again come under fire as Trump lashes out at him for not lowering interest rates more aggressively.Trump, now in his second presidency, has called Powell a “numbskull” and “moron,” and in July went so far as to suggest he could be dismissed for “fraud” over the handling of a $2.5 billion renovation project at the Fed’s headquarters.Since Trump returned to the White House, Powell has proven willing to compromise in certain areas, such as by pulling back on the Fed’s work on climate change.But “Trump pushed him too far this time, and he came out with all guns blazing,” Brookings senior fellow David Wessel said of the Fed chief’s sharp rebuke of the Justice Department probe.Wessel expects the forceful response will cement Powell’s legacy as “a Fed chair with a spine.””He will be seen as the guy who stood up for the independence of the Fed, and the rule of law,” Wessel told AFP.Already, Powell made headlines when he appeared with Trump in July as the president toured the under-renovation Fed buildings while criticizing cost overruns.In a brief exchange in front of reporters, Powell corrected Trump in real-time as the president claimed the price tag for the revamp had ballooned to $3.1 billion. The usually stoic Fed chair was seen shaking his head on camera while Trump spoke, and responding: “I haven’t heard that from anybody.”Prior to his appointment to the central bank in 2012 by then-president Obama, Powell was a scholar at the Bipartisan Policy Center think tank. The native of Washington served in the Treasury Department, in charge of financial institutions, for a brief period under Republican President George H.W. Bush.