Powell Holds Rates, But Two Colleagues Dissent

Split at the Fed: Powell Holds, Colleagues Push Back

The U.S. Federal Reserve has decided to hold rates at the 4.25-4.50% level, according to the central bank’s official statement published on Wednesday afternoon. But two Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) members, Michelle Bowman and Christopher Waller, disagreed with Fed Chair Jerome Powell and the rest of the committee.

The decision to hold rates came as no surprise to most. The CME Fedwatch Tool predicted today’s outcome with a 97% likelihood. But what pundits were eager to see was which Federal Reserve Board Governors were on team Trump versus team Powell. The U.S. President has been urging the central bank to cut rates for months.

That said, Bowman’s and Waller’s dissent isn’t much of a surprise either. Both have made public statements supporting the president’s position, and today, the two governors have made those positions official by voting against Powell’s decision to keep the federal funds rate unchanged.

“In support of its goals, the Committee decided to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 4-1/4 to 4-1/2 percent,” the Fed’s official statement says. “Voting against this action were Michelle W. Bowman and Christopher J. Waller, who preferred to lower the target range for the federal funds rate by 1/4 percentage point at this meeting.”

Perhaps what makes the scenario unique is that, according to CNBC, today was the first time in 32 years that multiple governors have been at odds with the prevailing rate decision. But even Bowman and Waller weren’t willing to slash rates by three points as the president has been demanding, opting for a much more incremental reduction of a quarter point.

“I call him ‘Too Late,’ he’s always too late,” Trump told reporters shortly before the Fed published its decision. “Even if he does it today.” The president then shrugged his shoulders and conceded, “He probably won’t.”