Fed’s Bowman, Waller Explain Rare Dissents, Call for Rate Cut Amid Signs of Labor Market Cooling

The pair cited weakening growth and risks to the job market, and urged a preemptive move to lower interest rates.
Fed’s Bowman, Waller Explain Rare Dissents, Call for Rate Cut Amid Signs of Labor Market Cooling
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell (R) speaks with Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman (L) at the Federal Reserve Board building in Washington, on June 25, 2025. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images
Tom Ozimek
Tom Ozimek
Reporter
|Updated:
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Federal Reserve Governors Michelle Bowman and Christopher Waller on Friday laid out their reasons for breaking with colleagues earlier this week and voting to cut interest rates, citing slowing growth, softening consumer demand, and mounting signs of labor market fragility.

The dual dissent at the July 30 policy meeting—the first by two Fed governors since 1993—underscores a widening divide on how soon the central bank should pivot from its restrictive stance on interest rates.
Tom Ozimek
Tom Ozimek
Reporter
Tom Ozimek is a senior reporter for The Epoch Times. He has a broad background in journalism, deposit insurance, marketing and communications, and adult education.
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