The central bank raises its benchmark rate by a quarter percentage point in an effort to tamp down inflation. Additional rate hikes are likely in the months to come.

Republicans boycotted a meeting of the Senate Banking Committee Tuesday, delaying a vote on five nominees to the Fed's board. The move was aimed at one nominee: Sarah Bloom Raskin.

The Federal Reserve is opening the door to possible interest rate hikes earlier next year than had been expected, as it wrestles with the highest inflation in nearly four decades.