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Philadelphia Fed President Paulson content with rates at current level, but keeping an open mind
CNBC · 2026-08-04
Philadelphia Fed President Paulson content with current rates, but keeping an open mind Skip Navigation Markets Pre-Markets U.S. Markets Currencies Prediction Markets Cryptocurrency Futures & Commodities Bonds Funds & ETFs Business Economy Finance Health & Science Media Real Estate Energy Climate Transportation Investigations Industrials Retail Wealth Sports Life Small Business Investing Personal Finance Fintech Financial Advisors Options Action ETF Street Buffett Archive Earnings Trader Talk Tech Cybersecurity AI Enterprise Internet Media Mobile Social Media CNBC Disruptor 50 Tech Guide Politics & Policy White House Policy Defense Congress Expanding Opportunity Video Latest Video Full Episodes Livestream Live Audio Live TV Schedule CNBC Podcasts CEO Interviews CNBC Documentaries Digital Originals Watchlist Investing Club Trust Portfolio Analysis Trade Alerts Meeting Videos Homestretch Jim's Columns Education Subscribe PRO Pro News Josh Brown Mike Santoli Calls of the Day My Portfolio Livestream Full Episodes Stock Screener Market Forecast Options Investing Chart Investing Subscribe Livestream Menu Make It select USA INTL Livestream Search quotes, news & videos Livestream Watchlist SIGN IN Create free account Markets Business Investing Tech Politics & Policy Video Watchlist Investing Club PRO Livestream Menu Federal Reserve Philadelphia Fed President Paulson content with rates at current level, but keeping an open mind Published Tue, Aug 4 2026 9:18 AM EDT Updated 4 Hours Ago Jeff Cox @jeff.cox.7528 @JeffCoxCNBCcom WATCH LIVE Key Points Philadelphia Fed President Anna Paulson told CNBC on Tuesday that she is confident the current interest rate level is sufficient to bring inflation back to target. The policymaker voted last week with the FOMC majority to hold rates steady and said it "was not a close call" for her, despite the 9-3 divide on the panel. Paulson said she's keeping an open mind about changes Chairman Kevin Warsh had discussed. watch now VIDEO 7:23 07:23 Philadelphia Fed President Paulson: We need 'mildly restrictive' policy to bring inflation down Squawk Box Philadelphia Federal Reserve President 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. 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