Miran wanted a bigger cut and Schmid voted for no easing at all

There were two people who spoke out against the Federal Reserve’s decision Wednesday to cut the federal funds rate by a quarter point in two different directions.

Federal Reserve Governor Stephen Miran called for a half-point rate cut instead, while Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey Schmid voted for no rate cut.

“The decision to cut interest rates by 25 basis points in October was never in doubt, but the unexpectedly hawkish opposition from a regional Fed chairman underscores that future moves are becoming more controversial,” said Michael Pearce, deputy U.S. economist at Oxford Economics. “We expect the Fed to slow the pace of cuts from here on.”

Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, called the two standoffs “unusual,” especially because one wanted a deeper cut and the other wanted no change.

“[Fed Chair Jerome] “Powell will have to use all his leadership skills to keep Fed leaders moving in the same direction in the coming months,” he said.

This was the second consecutive opposition by Miran, who was the only oppositionist to call for a half-point interest rate cut at the September meeting. The central bank instead cut the federal funds rate by 25 basis points, or a quarter percentage point.

Miran joined the Fed in September after being appointed by President Donald Trump and confirmed by the Senate. Schmid voted to lower interest rates in September, although he expressed some skepticism about lowering interest rates in an interview with CNBC in late August.