“The time may be approaching to consider slowing the pace of interest rate reductions, or pausing, to carefully assess the current economic environment, incoming information and evolving outlook,” he said.
Jeff Schmid
- Kansas City Fed president since August 2023.
- This will be Schmid’s first time voting on the FOMC.
Schmid has emphasized there is uncertainty over where interest rates will ultimately settle. Officials largely agree that policy is restraining the economy since the Fed’s benchmark rate lies above most estimates of the so-called neutral rate, which neither restricts nor promotes economic activity.
But there is disagreement over how far officials need to cut to reach that neutral level.
Schmid has said a slower pace of rate cuts will allow officials to find out.
“While I support dialing back the restrictiveness of policy, my preference would be to avoid outsized moves, especially given uncertainty over the eventual destination of policy and my desire to avoid contributing to financial market volatility,” Schmid said on Oct. 21.
Susan Collins
- Boston Fed president since July 2022.
- Collins was last a regularly voting member on the FOMC in 2022.
Collins said in mid-November that although the final destination for policy is uncertain, “some additional policy easing is needed.” She reiterated that rates are not on a preset path, while describing the economy as “in a good place overall.”
“The policy adjustments made so far enable the FOMC to be careful and deliberate going forward, taking the time to holistically assess implications of the available data for the outlook and the associated balance of risks,” Collins said.
Austan Goolsbee
- Chicago Fed president since January 2023.
- Goolsbee was last a regularly voting member on the FOMC in 2023.
Goolsbee has repeatedly said he views the Fed’s policy stance as well above neutral — a view he reiterated after December’s rate cut.
He said he adjusted his outlook for interest rates a little higher for next year, but still expects borrowing costs to fall.
“I’ve made the rate path a little bit more shallow in 2025, but I’ve been saying that the overall thread is that inflation is way down,” Goolsbee said Friday. “I believe we’re on path to 2% and over the next 12-18 months rates can still go down a fair amount.”
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