Meeting Minutes for December Show the Fed Has Deep Divisions Over the December Rate Cut, Even Though the Final Decision Was 9–3 to Cut by 0.25%, Bringing the Rate to 3.5%–3.75%

🔹 Even some officials who supported the cut admitted that the decision was a tough call and they could have kept rates unchanged

🔹 Major disagreements
— One side wants to support the labor market
— The other worries inflation is still not at the 2% target 🔹 The “Dot plot” indicates the Fed expects a very slow pace of cuts, about once in 2026 and once in 2027, bringing rates close to 3%

🔹 The Fed believes that tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump are putting pressure on inflation, but most think the impact is only temporary

🔹 Overall, the meeting minutes reflect what Fed Chair Jerome Powell had previously shared, so nothing surprising.