Fed's Hammack Says Broad-Based Inflation Pressure Prompted Dissent

By Matt Grossman

Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack said that ongoing inflation, exacerbated by rising oil prices, means the Fed should no longer signal that its next move would likely be a rate cut.

In a brief statement Friday morning, Hammack outlined her objections to the Fed's policy statement released after the April meeting this week. She was one of three officials who lodged unusual dissents against not the policy decision itself but the language of the statement. Hammack and her two fellow dissenters, Neel Kashkari of the Minneapolis Fed and Lorie Logan of the Dallas Fed, objected because they believed the language was too dovish.

A reference to possible additional interest-rate adjustments "was put into the statement to signal a pause rather than an end to the easing cycle," Hammack said. "I see this clear easing bias as no longer appropriate given the outlook."

The three hawkish dissents at Jerome Powell's last Fed meeting as chair signal that the Fed's incoming leader, Kevin Warsh, would face a tough path if he seeks rate cuts shortly after taking the job. A fourth Fed official, Stephen Miran, dissented in favor of lower rates, as he has at a string of recent Fed meetings. Miran is set to leave the Fed upon Warsh's confirmation.

Write to Matt Grossman at matt.grossman@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 01, 2026 08:14 ET (12:14 GMT)