Minutes Reveal Fed Division Over Path of Interest Rates

The choice was between supporting the labor market and fighting inflation.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaks at a news conference following the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting in Washington on Oct. 29, 2025. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times

Federal Reserve officials were divided at last month’s policy meeting over the path of interest rates, according to minutes released on Feb. 18.

While the Fed voted 10–2 to leave interest rates unchanged—Fed Governors Christopher Waller and Stephen Miran preferred a quarter-point rate cut—members expressed divergence on where the benchmark federal funds rate is headed.