nearly three decades. all, of course, in an effort to slow slowing inflation. in hours, the fed expected to announce raising rates by 0.75. that will make it more expensive to pay for things like a mortgage. the biden administration under growing pressure to do more to avoid a recession. retail sales fell last month. consumers feeling the squeeze from the record high gas prices, inflation and already rising interest rates. let s begin our coverage with cnn s matt egan live in washington taking a closer look at the fed s big move expected today, matt. reporter: erica, this is shaping up to be an historic day for the american economy. in just under three hours, the federal reserve is expected to take aggressive action to try to tame inflation. prices surging so rapidly that economists and investors now expect the fed to raise interest rates by 0.75%. this is a big deal. some context, just six months ago or so, there was a debate over whether or not the fed would raise interes
the prices down. first, what more can we expect with this decision from from the fed next hour? bottom line what does it mean for american families? reporter: i think hearing from powell will be highly scrutinized. i think economic projections. we will hear how fed officials are feeling about the state of our economy, not just right now but also for years to come in terms of things like gdp growth, inflation for sure. also unemployment, the battle of the bar here for short is interest rates. if you take a look at interest rates over the last few years, you can see they were pretty much at zero during the pandemic as the federal reserve tried to encourage borrowing and spending. now rates are on the way up. the first hike was in march. then we saw rate hikes last may, last month. we know they are on their way up. i think what s parent to know is there is wide consensus there is much more ram to go in terms of where we see notes go. we put out a note yesterday ultimately it e
short. we just learned his recorded testimony is expected to be shown tomorrow. and children under age 5 are another critical step closer to getting covid vaccines for the first time. we ll break down the new green light by fda advisers as cases are rising, and even dr. anthony fauci has now tested positive for covid. we want to welcome our viewers here in the united states and around the world. i m wolf blitzer. you re in the situation room. we begin with the biggest jump in interest rates in nearly 30 years here in the united states. the federal reserve prescribing new medicine for the ailing u.s. economy that may be tough to swallow for so many americans. brian todd is joining us live from outside the federal reserve. brian, this is truly a consequential move aim at trying to tackle soaring inflation. reporter: prices across the board were soaring out of control. the fed needed to do something. now it s a matter how the average american can absorb this. with prices s
the president s visit comes as his administration is facing mounting pressure following this, you know, 41-year inflation high that we re seeing and a huge surge in gas prices. the nation s national average for gas, $5.02 a gallon now. all of this as a key inflation measure slowed slightly last month. also this morning, the white house is now confirming that the president will be traveling to the middle east, specifically to israel and saudi arabia, in july. we re also learning his visit will include a meeting with the saudi crown prince, mohammed bin salman. remember, president biden had previously called the kingdom a pariah for its role in the killing of washington post journalist jamal khashoggi. that was before he became president. we ll have much more on that in a moment. plus, the january 6th committee is postponing now a hearing that was scheduled for tomorrow. a member of the committee saying this was due to technical issues. we ll be live on capitol hill with
this, of course, despite his promise to make saudi, quote, a pariah state. all this as the federal reserve is expected to announce its biggest hike in decades. john harwood is live in philadelphia. john, there is a lot at stake for the president. reporter: a lot at stake, erica, for the president. a lot at stake for the country. as we ve seen underscored by the january 6th committee hearings. the president s biggest political problem is negative public sentiment about high inflation. as you indicated, he is going to say that this is his top priority. mostly a job for the federal reserve, but he s also going to do what he can to try to make a difference on the margins. that s why he is going to swallow his statements about making saudi arabia a pariah and meet with the crown prince, mbs, on a visit in a few weeks. that s in hopes of expanding saudi oil production and getting gas prices down a little bit. he s also here before this friendly audience to talk about the positi