Philadelphia Fed President Paulson content with rates at current level, but keeping an open mind

… Anna Paulson said Tuesday that she thinks the current level of interest rates is sufficient to keep inflation moving toward the central bank's goal. In her first CNBC interview, the policymaker insisted she has an open mind about where monetary policy should go, but was confident in her vote last week to keep the Fed's benchmark borrowing rate anchored at its current target level of 3.5%-3.75%. "I think we need ... policy that's mildly restrictive, and I think policy has been mildly restrictive to get underlying inflation back down to 2% in an acceptable time period," Paulson told CNBC's Steve Liesman during a " Squawk Box " interview. "I need to see progress from here." The level of restriction that the current policy level is having on the economy is a key debate point for Fed officials, who have held rates steady all year as inflation has stayed well above the 2% target. At last week's meeting, the Federal Open Market Committee, of which Paulson is a voting member, opted by a 9-3 tally to keep the hold on rates. Dissenting voters questioned whether the current rate level is sufficiently restrictive to bring inflation lower. However, Paulson said voting with the majority wasn't a tough decision. "For me, it was not a close call," she said, adding that she thinks underlying inflation outside of energy supply shocks, tariffs and other factors is around 2.4%-2.8%. The core inflation level that the Fed uses as its primary forecasting tool was 3.3% in June, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. If that level doesn't move lower, then Paulson said she'll be open to adjusting rates. "Maybe there was a little bit of mild progress over the last several months, but I want to see more progress on that, and that's what I'm really focused on," she said. "If we don't see that progress, then we have to be open to recalibrating monetary policy. You know, we need to get to 2%." Paulson added she is keeping an "open mind" about some of the changes Chairman Kevin Warsh has discussed, including the potential to reduce the frequency of FOMC meetings from the current level of eight per year. "It's healthy to have a discussion about that," she said. Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news. Subscribe to CNBC PRO Subscribe to Investing Club Licensing & Reprints CNBC Councils Select Personal Finance Join the CNBC Panel Closed Captioning Digital Products News Releases Internships Corrections About CNBC Site Map Podcasts Careers Help Contact News Tips Got a confidential news tip? We want to hear from you. Get In Touch CNBC Newsletters Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inbox Sign Up Now Get this delivered to your inbox, and more info about our products and services. Advertise With Us Please Contact Us Ad Choices Privacy Policy Your Privacy Choices CA Notice Terms of Service © 2026 Versant Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved. A Versant Media Company. Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes. Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes, and Market Data and Analysis. Market Data Terms of Use and Disclaimers Data also provided by