WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve lowered interest rates on Wednesday for the third time this year.

The rate cut of 0.25 points was made by the Fed during its final meeting of 2025. It brings the rate to between 3.5% to 3.75%, the lowest in nearly three years.

It marked the fourth straight vote that was not backed by all members of the 12-person Federal Open Market Committee.

On Wednesday, there were three dissenting votes by committee members.

Stephen I. Miran, a member of the Board of Governors, opposed the decision in favor of a half-point reduction.

Jeffrey R. Schmid, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, voted for the Fed to stand pat, the same way he voted in October. He was joined by Austan D. Goolsbee, president of the Chicago Fed.

The three dissents are the most for the Fed’s policy setting body since November 2019.

Since July, the group has struggled to reach a consensus, and no vote since then has been unanimous.

Powell said he now believes that the federal funds rate is within a broad range of estimates of “neutral,” which means it is neither pushing economic activity up or down.

The meeting by the Fed comes as President Donald Trump continued to apply pressure on the bank, hoping to bring down interest rates.

The government shutdown delayed two months of jobs and inflation data, which has left the Fed with much less information on hiring and inflation than it has been accustomed to.

That left the Fed to estimate economic projections for the end of this calendar year. Officials believe the nation’s unemployment rate will rise to 4.5% by the end of December, up from the 4.4% figure in September.

Powell said the government shutdowns had “likely weighed on economic activity” this quarter, but he said he expected it to be offset in the future.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics will release November’s jobs report in less than a week, in addition to the Consumer Price Index report for the month.

According to new projections, most officials raised their forecasts for growth in 2026 to 2.3%, up from 1.8% percent three months ago.

“Available indicators suggest that economic activity has been expanding at a moderate pace,” the Fed said in a statement. “Job gains have slowed this year, and the unemployment rate has edged up through September.

“Inflation has moved up since earlier in the year and remains somewhat elevated.”

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