On August 28, Federal Reserve Chairman Waller stated on Friday that if policymakers cannot be confident that inflation is returning to 2% "in a clear and sufficiently rapid manner," the Fed "has work to do." This suggests that if price pressures do not improve, the Fed may consider raising rates in its next move. Waller made it clear that he still supports the Fed's long-standing policy path of managing inflation through interest rate adjustments. This significantly increases the likelihood of a rate hike in the near future, which may put him at odds with President Trump, who has long sought rate cuts. This statement effectively eliminates the ambiguity left previously. At a press conference at the end of July, Waller had refrained from responding extensively to whether a rate hike was necessary to address the inflation issue, which has significantly risen this year and has been above the Fed's target for over five consecutive years.