Federal Reserve Board Chairman Kevin Warsh held a news conference after the Federal Open Market Committee meeting.
Further details on the Fed’s October 2026 interest‑rate decision will be added as they become available.
On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged, citing persistent inflation and a need for more data after raising rates in September.
The Federal Open Market Committee voted 10‑2 to maintain the federal funds rate target at 3.75%‑4.0%. This decision follows a 25‑basis‑point increase in September, the Fed’s first rate hike since July 2023.
The FOMC noted that economic activity “is expanding at a strong pace” despite uncertainty linked to geopolitical developments, supported by robust productivity growth and capital investment. Job growth has “kept pace with the workforce, and the unemployment rate has changed little.”
The committee’s statement stressed that inflation remains elevated and that “the accumulation of more information will help the Committee determine the policy stance appropriate to ensure a timely return of inflation to the Committee’s 2% goal. The Committee will deliver price stability.”
Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh will hold a press conference to discuss the Fed’s interest‑rate decision. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
There were two dissenters from the FOMC decision to leave interest rates unchanged – Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack and Fed Governor Lisa Cook each voted in favor of hiking interest rates by 25 basis points.
Warsh said policymakers go through a process of “interrogating reality” as they assess economic conditions at each FOMC meeting, noting that the process has been complicated by high levels of investment, a steady labor market and elevated inflation.
He described labor market conditions as “quite positive” under the Fed’s dual mandate of full employment, but added that on the price‑stability side “Americans, of course, are still dealing with inflation that has been running above the committee’s objective for close to six years. It’s our responsibility to get inflation down.”
Since the September hike, Warsh explained, policymakers have observed that financial and credit conditions have tightened for some businesses and households “much as we would expect.”
He added that market participants are “becoming somewhat more discerning in their capital allocations. And while overall financial conditions are tighter, I’m unwilling and unable to call them tight. But broadly, these developments go in the direction of achieving a longer, more durable period of economic growth and price stability.”