Susan Collins

Well, it's about the balance, right?

I mean, the inflation side, and again, that is what I hear about in every conversation I have across the first district, which is most of New England.

And so it's about balancing

That commitment to restoring price stability with an understanding that preserving healthy labor markets also really matters for the public.

And so doing that balance, I would say it's not a done deal in terms of what we do at the next meeting, but a range of possibilities is on the table, and we're going to get more data between now and then.

Well, so from my perspective, the risks on the two sides have come into rough balance.

And so that's a really complex context for monetary policy when you could see the unemployment rate rising and you could see higher inflation.

You know, my baseline is not one that is as concerned about inflation expectations rising at the moment.

Earlier in the year, I had more concerns about that.

I would say that at the moment monetary policy is kind of modestly restrictive.

That's actually appropriate for a period when inflation is elevated.

We haven't brought back price stability at which I am more than I'm totally committed to.

But at the same time, there are those risks

with the slower employment growth that could lead unemployment rates to rise and balancing those risks.

So I think at the moment where we are is appropriate, but if we start to see worsening labor market risks relative to inflation, then starting to dial back the restrictedness would become appropriate.

Well, you know, I am laser focused on the data and the range of data from what's happening in the relative short term to what the indicators are suggesting in terms of longer term trajectories.

I think, as I said earlier, those underlying fundamentals are still quite healthy.

I think my baseline is, again, it's going to remain elevated for some time related to those tariffs, which are still unfolding.

There's a lot of uncertainty with that.

But it's possible that we'll see more persistence.