Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell faces intensifying pressure for rate cuts from the White House and even some of his fellow central bank policymakers as heads to Capitol Hill Tuesday for his semiannual testimony to Congress.

Is the Federal Reserve suddenly open to cutting U.S. interest rates as early as July? That’s what Wall Street investors want to know when Fed Chair Jerome Powell testifies before Congress this week.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to testify before Congress Tuesday, where he will likely face question about interest rates, the Fed's independence from politics, and the impact of the U.