Outgoing governor’s call for bigger moves keep pressure on Fed and mortgage markets
Federal Reserve governor Stephen Miran continues to press for deeper interest rate cuts this year. In an interview with Fox Business Network, he argued that monetary policy remains too restrictive even after a string of quarter‑point reductions.
Miran dissented at the Federal Open Market Committee’s late‑January meeting, favoring another 25‑basis‑point cut when the majority opted to hold the federal funds rate at 3.5% to 3.75% after three straight quarter‑point moves in September, October and December.
Along with fellow governor Christopher Waller, he also pushed for larger half‑point cuts earlier in the cycle.
Miran’s term as governor formally expired at the end of January, but he remains on the board until a successor is confirmed. President Donald Trump already nominated former Fed governor Kevin Warsh to lead the central bank, a choice Miran welcomed.
“I think Kevin Warsh is a fantastic choice for Fed chairman,” he said. Warsh, he added, is “well respected by Wall Street, the investment community and policymakers,” and Miran said he is “very excited to see the things that he’s going to do with the Federal Reserve.”
The Federal Reserve holds rates steady in its first 2026 decision.
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“I’m probably looking for a little bit more than a point of interest‑rate cuts over the course of the year,” Miran said. Although markets are pricing in roughly two 25‑basis‑point cuts as the most likely outcome, he said “100 basis points of cuts are needed this year.”
When asked why he believes the Fed could move more aggressively without reigniting inflation, Miran said: “When I look at underlying inflation, I don’t really see a lot of very strong price pressures in the economy. I don’t see a lot of strong supply‑demand imbalances of the type that monetary policy should respond to.”
Instead, he argued, “we’re keeping rates too high, mostly because of quirks of how we measure inflation rather than actual price pressures themselves.”
Policy split put in a wider mortgage context
Miran acknowledged the breadth of views inside the Fed. Atlanta Fed president Raphael Bostic floated the possibility that no cuts might be needed this year, a stance Miran contrasted with his own.
“The Fed has a very strong diversity of views,” he said. “Everyone’s got their own view. At the end of the day we were a committee and we took votes. I’m just one member of that committee, but I’ll continue arguing for my view because I think it’s right.”
Markets lean heavily on CME’s FedWatch tool to handicap Fed moves, with traders at times assigning near‑certain odds to upcoming cuts before officials pushed back on expectations. In October 2025, for example, FedWatch showed the chance of a 25‑basis‑point cut in October at 99%, helping to anchor mortgage‑rate bets as government shutdown risks and job losses mounted.
Earlier in 2025, originators warned that the Fed’s reluctance to cut more quickly contributed to consumer paralysis in housing, with borrowers hesitating even as application volumes inched higher.
What Miran’s stance meant for lenders
For mortgage professionals, Miran’s push for more than a full percentage point of easing underlines how volatile the policy outlook has become.
While many in the industry welcome any path to lower funding costs and a looser credit backdrop, others echo warnings that overly aggressive cuts could reignite inflation and force a painful policy reversal later.
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