Key Takeaways Fed officials are widely expected to hold the central bank's key interest rate steady at its next meeting on March 17 and 18. Officials are split on the strategy for future meetings: whether to lower interest rates to help the job market or keep them higher for longer to fight inflation. Outside of the meeting, the Fed faces a leadership change and questions about how independent it can remain from the White House's control. The Federal Reserve's policy committee next meets March 17 ...