BlockBeats News, September 22nd: Prior to last week’s interest rate meeting, some Wall Street insiders had anticipated a deeper division within the Federal Reserve. However, contrary to expectations, after Governors Waller and Bowman voted against at the last meeting, they chose to align with their colleagues this time, making Trump’s appointee Shelton the sole dissenter in an 11-1 vote.
Former New York Fed President Dudley stated, “Powell still firmly controls the Fed. Those officials inclined to keep rates unchanged followed the Fed Chair’s opinion and agreed to a rate cut. Even Trump-appointed Bowman and Waller refused a larger rate cut as requested by Trump. Their actions demonstrated integrity, commitment to the Fed’s mission, and the importance of maintaining central bank independence.”
Susan Hill, Head of Liquidity at Federated Hermes, said that despite ongoing pressure from the White House, “at least for now, most people seem to be standing behind Powell, and I am confident this partly explains why he appeared so calm and confident at the press conference.” Powell, whose term as Chair expires in May next year, also delivered a strong rebuke to Trump’s appointee Shelton and the White House in his post-meeting speech. When asked if there was any consideration for a 50 basis point rate cut internally, Powell said, “There is simply not broad support for that.”
