Fed hawks and doves: what US central bankers are saying

ReutersAug 5, 2025 7:05 PM

By Ann Saphir

Aug. 5 (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve left its policy rate in the 4.25%-4.50% range at its July 29-30 meeting to keep downward pressure on inflation, which remains above target.

Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman and Governor Christopher Waller both dissented, arguing that the central bank should reduce borrowing costs to head off deterioration in the labor market.

President Donald Trump, who has berated Fed Chair Jerome Powell for not cutting rates, also took immediate exception to the decision.

Trump will soon get a chance to shape Fed decision-making more directly, with the appointment of a replacement for Governor Adriana Kugler, who is leaving her post this month, well ahead of the late-January expiration of her term.

Here is a look at Fed officials' comments since their last policy meeting, sorting them under the labels "dove" and "hawk" as shorthand for their monetary policy leanings. A dove is more focused on risks to the labor market and may want to cut rates more quickly, while a hawk is more focused on the threat of inflation and may be more cautious about rate cuts.

The designations are based on comments and published remarks; for more, click on the photos in this graphic. For a breakdown of how Reuters' counts in each category have changed, please scroll to the bottom of this story.

Dove	Dovish	Centrist	Hawkish	Hawk
Michelle Bowman, Vice Chair of Supervision, permanent voter: A quarter-point interest-rate cut “would have proactively hedged against a further weakening in the economy and the risk of damage to the labor market.” Aug 1, 2025	Lisa Cook, Governor, permanent voter: No public comments on monetary policy since June 3, 2025.	Jerome Powell, Fed Chair, permanent voter: "If you move too soon, you wind up maybe not getting inflation all the way fixed and you have to come back. That's inefficient. If you move too late, you might do unnecessary damage to the labor market….in the end, there should be no doubt that we will do what we need to do to keep inflation under control. Ideally, we do it efficiently.” July 30, 2025	Jeffrey Schmid, Kansas City Fed President, 2025 voter: No public comments on monetary policy since June 24, 2025
Christopher Waller, Governor, permanent voter: "The wait and see approach is overly cautious, and, in my opinion, does not properly balance the risks to the outlook and could lead to policy falling behind the curve.” Aug. 1, 2025.	Austan Goolsbee, Chicago Fed President, 2025 voter: No public comments on monetary policy since July 18, 2025.	John Williams, New York Fed President, permanent voter: "If the data are progressing in a way consistent with the best achievement of our goals—and to achieve that, and balance the risks best, it makes sense to reduce the restrictiveness of monetary policy, then that’s what we should do." Aug 1, 2025	Alberto Musalem, St. Louis Fed President, 2025 voter: "No public comments on monetary policy since July 10, 2025.
		Philip Jefferson, Vice Chair, permanent voter: No public comments on monetary policy since May 14, 2025.	Neel Kashkari, Minneapolis Fed President, 2026 voter: Goods prices are going up and the economy is slowing and that’s a real challenge for the Fed and any central bank." Aug. 1, 2025
		Michael Barr, Governor, permanent voter: No public comments on monetary policy since June 26, 2025.	Beth Hammack, Cleveland Fed President, 2026 voter: "I don't see a need to really reduce (interest rates) unless we see material weakening on the labor side." July 14, 2025
		Adriana Kugler, Governor, permanent voter: Did not attend the July Fed meeting and plans to leave the Fed Aug. 8 to return to academia. In July she said she felt the Fed should hold rates steady for "some time."	Lorie Logan, Dallas Fed President, 2026 voter: No public comments on monetary policy since July 15, 2025.
		Susan Collins, Boston Fed President, 2025 voter: No public comments on monetary policy since July 15, 2025.	Raphael Bostic, Atlanta Fed President, 2027 voter: "The numbers today and the revisions, in an important way, suggest that maybe the economy and the labor market are weakening more broadly … going into this week, I thought that the risks to inflation were much greater than the risk to employment." Aug. 1 2025
		Anna Paulson, Philadelphia Fed President, 2026 voter: No public remarks on monetary policy since starting the job July 1, 2025.	Thomas Barkin, Richmond Fed President, 2027 voter: No public comments on monetary policy since June 26, 2025.
		Mary Daly, San Francisco Fed President, 2027 voter: "I was willing to wait another cycle, but I can't wait forever.” Aug 1, 2025

Notes: The current policy rate target range is 4.25%-4.50%. The median of Fed policymaker projections in June was for half a percentage point of rate cuts this year, though seven of the 19 projected no cuts at all. The Fed next publishes projections at its September meeting.

The Fed's seven governors, including the Fed chief and vice chairs, are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. Three - Waller, Bowman and Powell - are Trump nominees; the other four were nominated by former President Joe Biden. Each of them votes at every Federal Open Market Committee meeting, held eight times a year

All 12 regional Fed presidents discuss and debate monetary policy at the meetings, but only five cast votes, including the New York Fed president and four others who vote for one year at a time on a rotating schedule. Fed regional bank presidents are picked by the directors of their own regional banks, subject to approval by the Fed's Board of Governors.

Reuters over time has shifted policymaker designations based on fresh comments and developing circumstances. Below is a Reuters count of policymakers in each category, heading into recent Fed meetings.

FOMC Date	Dove	Dovish	Centrist	Hawkish	Hawk
July '25	1	3	8	7	0
Jan.-June '25	0	3	9	7	0
Dec. '24	0	2	10	7	0
Nov. '24	0	0	13	5	0
Sept '24	0	1	12	5	0
May through July '24	0	1	10	6	1
March '24	0	1	11	5	1
Jan '24	0	2	9	4	1
Dec '23	0	2	9	4	1
Oct/Nov '23	0	2	7	5	2
Sept '23	0	4	3	6	3
June '23	0	3	3	8	3
March '23	0	2	3	10	2
Dec '22	0	4	1	12	2

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