Fed hawks and doves: What US central bankers are saying

ReutersJan 22, 2026 2:36 PM

By Ann Saphir

Jan 22 (Reuters) - After cutting interest rates by three-quarters of a percentage point in 2025, Federal Reserve policymakers have signaled they will wait and see what happens with the economy before making another move. They are deeply divided between those who are worried that further easing could worsen inflation and those who feel that employment will suffer without lower interest rates.

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.

A graphic is also available.

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.

Dove	Dovish	Centrist	Hawkish	Hawk
Christopher Waller, Governor, permanent voter: "We just can steadily kind of bring the policy rate down towards neutral." December 17, 2025	Anna Paulson, Philadelphia Fed President, 2026 voter: "On net, I am still a little more concerned about labor market weakness than about upside risks to inflation.” December 12, 2025	Jerome Powell, Fed Chair, permanent voter: "The fed funds rate is now within a broad range of estimates of its neutral value and we are well positioned to wait to see how the economy evolves.” December 10, 2025	Neel Kashkari, Minneapolis Fed President, 2026 voter: "I don't see any impetus to cut in January.” January 14, 2026	Beth Hammack, Cleveland Fed President, 2026 voter: "My base case is that we can stay here for some period of time, until we get clearer evidence that either inflation is coming back down to target or the employment side is weakening more materially.” December 21, 2025
Stephen Miran, Governor, permanent voter: ”I’m looking for about a point and a half of cuts (this year). A lot of that is driven by my view of inflation.” January 8, 2026	Mary Daly, San Francisco Fed President, 2027 voter: "We will need to be deliberate as we calibrate policy to achieve both price stability and full employment.” January 15, 2026	John Williams, New York Fed President, permanent voter: "Monetary policy is now well positioned to support the stabilization of the labor market and the return of inflation to the FOMC’s longer-run goal of 2%." January 12, 2026	Austan Goolsbee, Chicago Fed President, 2027 voter: "We have to have convincing evidence that we're on path back to 2% inflation." January 15, 2026	Lorie Logan, Dallas Fed President, 2026 voter: No public comments on monetary policy since November 21, 2025.
Michelle Bowman, Vice Chair for Supervision, permanent voter: "Absent a clear and sustained improvement in labor market conditions, we should remain ready to adjust policy to bring it closer to neutral.” January 16, 2026		Philip Jefferson, Vice Chair, permanent voter: “The current policy stance leaves us well positioned to determine the extent and timing of additional adjustments to our policy rate based on the incoming data, the evolving outlook, and the balance of risks.” January 16, 2026	Thomas Barkin, Richmond Fed President, 2027 voter: “It is, I think, a delicate balance right now." January 13, 2026	Jeffrey Schmid, Kansas City Fed President, 2028 voter: "I believe that cutting rates could disproportionately harm the inflation side of our mandate without providing much benefit to the employment side.” January 15, 2026
		Lisa Cook, Governor, permanent voter: No public remarks on monetary policy since November 3, 2025.	Susan Collins, Boston Fed President, 2028 voter: "It was important to me that the forward guidance in the Committee’s statement now echoes language in the December 2024 statement, which preceded a pause in cutting rates." December 15, 2025
		Michael Barr, Governor, permanent voter: No public comments on monetary policy since October 9, 2025.	Raphael Bostic, Atlanta Fed President, non-voter, retiring February 2026: “Inflation is still too high….you've got to get it under control, and we need to be laser-focused on making sure that everything we do is contributing to that.” January 9, 2026
			Alberto Musalem, St. Louis Fed President, 2028 voter: “I see little reason for near-term further easing of policy.” January 13, 2026

Notes: The current policy rate target range is 3.50%-3.75%. The median of Fed policymaker projections in December was for one quarter-percentage point cut by the end of 2026, though only four of the 19 wanted exactly that, seven felt that less would be appropriate, and eight felt that more would be.

The Fed's seven governors, including the central bank chief and vice chairs, are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. Each of them 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 former President Joe Biden. Powell was initially nominated to the Fed's Board of Governors by former President Barack Obama, elevated to the chair position by Trump in his first term, and renominated to that position 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.

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
Jan. '26	3	2	5	6	3
Dec. '25	3	1	6	6	3
Oct '25	3	2	9	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

Disclaimer: The information provided on this website is for educational and informational purposes only and should not be considered financial or investment advice.