Kansas City Fed President Jeff Schmid isn’t backing down. Speaking at a banking conference on May 14, the central banker identified persistent inflation as the single most pressing risk facing the US economy, reinforcing his position as one of the Federal Reserve’s most vocal hawks.
With inflation hovering around 3%, well above the Fed’s 2% target, Schmid’s message was clear: restrictive monetary policy needs to stay in place.
A track record of dissent
He dissented against the Fed’s 0.25 percentage point rate cut in December 2025, arguing that inflation hadn’t cooled enough to justify easing. He also voted against a rate cut in October 2025, warning that loosening policy too early risked entrenching higher prices into the economy’s baseline.
His argument boils down to something straightforward: the economy still has momentum, the labor market remains balanced, and demand growth is strong enough that cutting rates would effectively pour gasoline on an inflationary fire that hasn’t been fully extinguished.
