Rob Armstrong

He said, you know, we're not going to say much, and especially we're not going to say very much about the future.

And so several times...

he was asked in ways both veiled and explicit, what are you going to do if this happens?

What are you going to do if that happens?

And he just said, all I can do is refer you back to the statement.

We didn't raise rates and suck it up.

His tone was, I would describe it as polite, but firm.

I wouldn't say overconfident.

But there was a new sheriff in town vibe there, where from question number one and from his opening comments, he was setting down some lines.

And he was doing that in a friendly way, but he was really representing firmness and projecting firmness.

This is not a negotiation between me and the press.

You know, I'm going to answer the questions politely, but there are, for me, there are lines in place that shall not be crossed.

And this actually crossed over into policy and effects on policy.

He very, very firmly and plainly said several times, inflation is too high.

Inflation is a matter of monetary policy.

In his famous phrase, inflation is a choice.

And we will put a stop to this.

And that last point was a change in tone from the way Powell discussed it, where he said...

Jay Powell, the predecessor, would always say things like the committee remains firmly committed to satisfying our dual mandate or similarly like aspirational lines.

And the message from Warsh was we will achieve price stability, period.