Fed Holds Rates at About 3.9% as Two Officials Push for a Hike, and Warsh Shakes Up the Meeting Calendar

WASHINGTON, Oct. 28 (TodayViralUSA) — The Federal Reserve left its benchmark interest rate unchanged on Wednesday, holding the federal funds rate in a range of 3.75% to 4% even as it acknowledged that inflation “remains elevated,” and two of its 12 voting policymakers broke ranks to call for another increase.

The decision, approved 10–2 at the end of a two-day meeting, was widely expected on Wall Street. It leaves borrowing costs where they have been since the central bank raised rates by a quarter percentage point in September, and it comes less than a week before the Nov. 3 midterm elections.

In its statement, the Federal Open Market Committee said that “the accumulation of more information” would help it decide the policy needed to return inflation to its 2% goal, adding: “The Committee will deliver price stability.”

Two dissents in favor of tighter policy

Fed Governor Lisa Cook and Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack voted against the decision, each preferring to lift the rate range by a quarter point at this meeting. CNBC reported it was Cook’s first dissent since she joined the Fed board in 2022.

Cook remains at the center of President Trump’s long-running effort to remove her from the board over allegations tied to her home loan applications. The Supreme Court halted an earlier attempt, but the administration has restarted the process, with a hearing scheduled for early November, according to CNBC.

The split underscores a sharper debate inside the central bank over how aggressively to confront rising prices. Annual inflation climbed to 3.7% in September from 3.4% the month before, and the Fed’s target has now been missed for more than five years.

A stronger read on the economy

The statement upgraded the Fed’s description of the economy, saying activity is “expanding at a strong pace,” up from “solid” in September. It said domestic spending has been resilient, productivity growth is strong, capital investment is robust and the unemployment rate has changed little.

At his news conference, Fed Chair Kevin Warsh said first-half growth had been revised up to 2.4% from an earlier 1.8% estimate, and that third-quarter growth appeared to be running above 3%, led by consumer spending and business investment rising at roughly a double-digit pace. He said high-tech investment was leading the acceleration.

A change to how the Fed meets

Warsh, who became chair about five months ago, also announced a change to the committee’s calendar. The Fed will keep eight meetings a year, but in 2027 one of them will be devoted entirely to broad monetary policy strategy, with no rate vote or policy statement expected. He said he expects two strategy-only meetings and six policy-setting meetings in 2028.

Warsh said the change would give policymakers time for “thinking anew about big questions” over longer horizons, while still assessing near-term developments at regular intervals.

What comes next

The statement gave little guidance on the Fed’s next move. Several officials, including Vice Chair Philip Jefferson and New York Fed President John Williams, have said in recent weeks that conditions allow time to assess incoming data before tightening further.