Fed hawks and doves: What US central bankers are saying

ReutersOct 6, 2025 6:24 PM

By Ann Saphir

Oct 6 (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve cut the U.S. policy rate by a quarter-of-a-percentage point at its September 16-17 meeting and signaled some further gradual cuts ahead to support the labor market, despite still-elevated inflation.

Stephen Miran, the Fed Board’s newest member and on unpaid leave as White House economic adviser, dissented and has argued for a sharply lower policy rate also called for by President Donald Trump.

Here is a look at Fed officials' recent comments, 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 public comments and published remarks. To see how Reuters' counts in each category have changed, please scroll to the bottom of this story, or click on the photos in this graphic.

Dove	Dovish	Centrist	Hawkish	Hawk
Michelle Bowman, Vice Chair of Supervision, permanent voter: "We are at serious risk of already being behind the curve in addressing deteriorating labor market conditions. Should these conditions continue, I am concerned that we will need to adjust policy at a faster pace and to a larger degree going forward." September 26, 2025	Lisa Cook, Governor, permanent voter: No public comments on monetary policy or the economy since August 6, 2025.	Jerome Powell, Fed Chair, permanent voter: "Near-term risks to inflation are tilted to the upside and risks to employment to the downside - a challenging situation.” Sept 23, 2025	Jeffrey Schmid, Kansas City Fed President, 2025 voter: “Some recent data suggests a growing risk that the labor market may weaken more substantially or abruptly than I had been anticipating.” Sept. 25, 2025	Beth Hammack, Cleveland Fed President, 2026 voter: ”I think we really need to maintain a restrictive stance of policy so that we can get inflation back down to our goal." Sept. 29, 2025 September 29, 2025
Christopher Waller, Governor, permanent voter: No public comments on monetary policy since September 3, 2025.	Mary Daly, San Francisco Fed President, 2027 voter: "I think a little bit more (rate-cutting) will be needed over time to get that interest rate where it's balancing out those two risks.” September 25, 2025	John Williams, New York Fed President, permanent voter: "We have a balancing act here." September 29, 2025	Lorie Logan, Dallas Fed President, 2026 voter: "We really need to be cautious of further rate cuts from here." October 3, 2025
Stephen Miran, Governor, permanent voter: "My view is that if policy is out of whack, you should adjust it at a reasonably ... brisk pace." Oct. 3, 2025		Philip Jefferson, Vice Chair, permanent voter: "I see the risks to employment as tilted to the downside and risks to inflation to the upside.” Oct. 3, 2025	Raphael Bostic, Atlanta Fed President, 2027 voter: "I am concerned about the inflation that has been too high for a long time…And so I today would not be moving (the policy rate) or in favor of it, but we’ll see what happens." September 22, 2025
		Michael Barr, Governor, permanent voter: No public comments on monetary policy since June 26, 2025.	Thomas Barkin, Richmond Fed President, 2027 voter: "The downside in the labor market should be limited… there are good reasons to think countervailing forces (on inflation) will limit the downside." September 29, 2025
		Alberto Musalem, St. Louis Fed President, 2025 voter: "I do believe we need to move cautiously because the room between now and the point where policy becomes overly accommodative is limited.” Sept. 29, 2025
		Susan Collins, Boston Fed President, 2025 voter: “Announcing ‘oh yeah, we're just going to…keep going until we get to neutral’: that seems to me to be a scenario where the risks to inflation go up, and that's not consistent, I think, with following through on our mandate.” Sept. 30, 2025
		Austan Goolsbee, Chicago Fed President, 2025 voter: "I'm a little wary about front-loading too many rate cuts and just counting on the inflation going away." Oct. 3, 2025
		Neel Kashkari, Minneapolis Fed President, 2026 voter: "I believe the risk of a sharp increase in unemployment warrants the committee taking some action to support the labor market." September 19, 2025
		Anna Paulson, Philadelphia Fed President, 2026 voter: No public remarks on monetary policy since starting the job July 1, 2025.

Notes: The current policy rate target range is 4.00%-4.25%. The median of Fed policymaker projections in September was for a half percentage point of further rate cuts this year, though nine of the 19 wanted less than that.

The Fed's seven governors, including the Fed chief and vice chairs, are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. Each votes at every Federal Open Market Committee meeting, held eight times a year.

Miran, Waller and Vice Chair Bowman are Trump nominees. Barr, Jefferson and Cook - whom Trump is attempting to fire - were nominated by President Joe Biden. Powell was initially nominated to the Fed Board by President Barack Obama, elevated to chair by Trump in his first term, and renominated as chair by Biden.

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 Fed meetings.

FOMC Date	Dove	Dovish	Centrist	Hawkish	Hawk
Oct '25	3	3	8	4	1
Sept '25	2	3	8	5	0
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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