The lone dissenter to the Federal Reserve's jumbo rate cut said that "a smaller first move in this process would have been a preferable action" because inflation is still not down to the central bank's 2% target.

"I see the risk that the Committee’s larger policy action could be interpreted as a premature declaration of victory on our price stability mandate," Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman said in a statement released Friday.

"We have not yet achieved our inflation goal."

Bowman was the only member of the Fed to dissent in Wednesday’s policy decision, saying she preferred a smaller cut of a quarter percentage point instead of a half percentage point. She was the first to do so in two years and the first Fed governor to dissent since 2005.

Bowman said Friday she agreed it was necessary for the central bank to lower interest rates this week but argued that moving at a "measured pace toward a more neutral policy stance will ensure further progress in bringing inflation down to our 2 percent target."

This approach, she added, "would also avoid unnecessarily stoking demand.”

Fed Chair Jerome Powell, in a press conference with reporters Wednesday, argued the larger 50 basis point cut was an attempt to get ahead of a cooling job market now that inflation is on its way down. There were even some officials who wanted an earlier cut at the Fed's last gathering in July, according to meeting minutes.

"We don’t think we are behind," he said. "We think this is timely but you can take this as a sign of our commitment not to get behind."

Powell acknowledged Bowman's dissent but also said there was "broad support" for the cut and a "lot of common ground" among his fellow policymakers.

Bowman, in her argument for a smaller cut, said in her statement that the US economy remains strong with "solid underlying growth" and a job market near full employment.

Although hiring appears to have softened, she added, layoffs remain low. She sees the normalization in the job market as necessary to help bring wage growth down to a pace consistent with 2% inflation given trend productivity growth.

It's clear Powell will have to manage signs of internal division over the path ahead.

The Fed's rate-setting committee is almost evenly split on the number of additional rate cuts expected this year, with seven policymakers favoring one additional 25 basis point rate cut before year end and nine members favoring 50 basis points of additional easing.

Two policymakers expect no more rate cuts.

That path implies several officials could have supported a 25 basis point cut this week but decided to err on the side of caution and not regret further deterioration in the job market.

"I respect and appreciate that my colleagues preferred to begin the reduction in the federal funds rate with a larger initial reduction in the target range for the policy rate,” Bowman said Friday.

"I remain committed to working together with my colleagues to ensure that monetary policy is appropriately positioned."

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