Fed Holds Rates Steady as Targeted Governor Cook Casts First Dissent
A 10-2 vote keeps the range at 3.75 to 4 percent
The Federal Reserve held its benchmark rate steady on October 28, voting 10-2 to keep the federal funds rate in a range of 3.75 to 4 percent. Governor Lisa Cook and Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack dissented, both preferring a quarter-point increase at this meeting.
Statement cites elevated inflation and need for more data
The post-meeting statement said inflation "remains elevated" and that "the accumulation of more information" would help the committee set policy to return inflation to its 2 percent goal in a timely way, adding that it "will deliver price stability." The pause follows a unanimous quarter-point hike in September, the central bank's first rate increase since July 2023.
Cook's first dissent meets Hammack's second
Warsh stresses resolve and distance from politics
Chair Kevin Warsh, who took over in May for a four-year term, said at his 2:30 p.m. ET news conference that the "monetary medicine" was starting to work and that the Fed would restore price stability "no ifs, ands or buts." With the decision landing six days before the midterm elections, he said "politics played no role in the decision." He also announced fewer rate-setting meetings: seven next year, down from eight, and six the year after.
