Scott Horsley

and Fed Chairman Jerome Powell's testimony about that project before a Senate committee.

Powell says those are mere pretext.

He says the threat of criminal charges is part of the administration's broader pressure campaign, designed to force the Fed to move more quickly in lowering interest rates.

The president is getting pushback, however, from some senators who will vote on Trump's nominee to replace Powell when the chairman's term ends in May.

Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington.

Healthcare and hospitality were among the few industries to add workers in December.

Factories, construction companies, and business services all cut back on employment.

Even retailers cut 25,000 jobs in December, as stores relied on fewer workers during the busy holiday shopping season.

Employment gains for all of last year were the smallest since 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic put millions of people out of work.

For all of last year, employers added less than 600,000 jobs compared to 2 million new jobs the year before.

The unemployment rate fell last month to 4.4%.

That's partly because tens of thousands of people dropped out of the workforce.

Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington.

Forecasters think that U.S.

employers added somewhere around 75,000 jobs in December, little change from the 64,000 initially tallied for November.

Job growth overall slowed sharply in 2025, with employers adding less than half as many jobs as they did the year before.

The unemployment rate's been inching up.

from 4 percent a year ago to 4.6 percent in November.

A survey by the New York Federal Reserve Bank shows Americans are increasingly nervous about job security.

In December, workers were slightly more worried about losing a job in the coming year and less confident about finding a new job if they do get laid off.