One FOMC dissenter might have just called out the Fed on criticism for its shifting base rate policy

Michelle Bowman, vice chair for supervision at the US Federal Reserve, left, and Jerome Powell, chairman of the US Federal Reserve, during the Federal Reserve Board open meeting in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, June 25, 2025. (Credit: Al Drago—Bloomberg/Getty Images)

• FOMC member Michelle Bowman has urged consistency in interest rate policy, following questions about why the FOMC cut rates in late 2024 but is holding steady now despite similar levels of inflation and unemployment data. Citing sharp downward revisions to U.S. job growth, Bowman reiterated her forecast for three cuts this year while warning that declining data reliability complicates policymaking.

Critics of Jerome Powell and the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) have argued the group’s shifting stance on when to cut the base rate has been anything but constant.