Cleveland Fed's Beth Hammack to Join 2026 FOMC Voting Group with Hawkish Stance on Interest Rates
Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack will serve as a voting member on the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) in 2026, marking a significant role in shaping U.S. monetary policy. Since her appointment in 2024 following a career at Goldman Sachs, Hammack has been recognized as one of the Fed's most hawkish voices.
Her current baseline policy outlook is to maintain interest rates steady for several months, awaiting clearer evidence that inflation is declining or employment conditions are weakening. Hammack has expressed skepticism about recent inflation data, noting that the November Consumer Price Index (CPI) drop was largely due to distortions from the government shutdown. She estimates underlying inflation to be around 2.9–3.0%, rather than the reported 2.7%.
Hammack's entry into the FOMC will come amid divided policy perspectives. Chris Waller has stated that the prevailing fed funds rate range of 3.5–3.75% is 50 to 100 basis points above neutral, whereas Hammack contends that this range is slightly below neutral, suggesting that current policy remains stimulative. Consequently, future policy votes are expected to see dissents, with uncertainty around the selection of the Fed chair potentially complicating the attainment of consensus votes.
In parallel developments in financial markets, Bitcoin has underperformed relative to other risk assets in 2025, trading near $87,833.82 despite the Fed's easier monetary policy stance.
