PANews reported on May 2nd that, according to the Wall Street Journal, Nick Timiraos, a vocal advocate for the Federal Reserve, wrote that three regional Fed presidents—Lorie Logan of Dallas, Neel Kashkari of Minneapolis, and another—opposed retaining the phrase "the next step is more likely to be a rate cut" in this week's policy meeting, arguing that the next interest rate adjustment could be either a rate hike or a rate cut. Outgoing Fed Chairman Jerome Powell stated that the committee is gradually shifting from a "rate-cutting bias" to a "neutral stance," adding that if a rate hike is needed in the future, the Fed will first shift to a neutral stance before signaling a rate hike.

Nick Timiraos argues that the internal discussion within the Federal Reserve regarding the interest rate path has shifted significantly. The main debate is no longer about when to resume rate cuts, but rather about under what conditions a rate hike might be necessary. Since the Fed began issuing policy statements in 1994, disagreements about how to describe policy direction (rather than actual interest rate changes) have been rare.