The Fed hates politics. Now it’s trying to cut rates in an election year.

The Federal Reserve is loath to get involved in elections or politics. But 2024 is already shaping up to be quite the collision course.

Central bankers are eyeing multiple interest rate cuts starting sometime this year. And as the months pass, the chances grow that those cuts end up juicing the economy in the run-up to Election Day — just as Republicans and Democrats fight to leverage the economy in their appeals to voters.

Decisions about interest rates, Fed officials say, are based solely on how the economy evolves, and whether inflation keeps trending down. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell is likely to reiterate that stance during two days of congressional testimony this week, which began Wednesday before the House Financial Services Committee.

“We do not consider politics in our decisions. We never do. And we never will,” Powell said on CBS News’s “60 Minutes” last month. “And I think the record — fortunately, the historical record really backs that up.”