On August 28, Federal Reserve Chairman Waller stated on Friday that if policymakers cannot be confident that inflation is "declining at a clear and sufficiently rapid pace" back to 2%, the Fed "still has work to do." This suggests that if price pressures do not improve, the Fed may consider raising interest rates next. Waller made it clear that he remains committed to the Fed's long-standing policy of managing inflation through interest rate adjustments. This significantly increases the likelihood of the Fed's next rate hike, which could create a divergence with President Trump, who has long sought rate cuts. This statement essentially eliminated any ambiguity left previously. At the 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 been significantly elevated this year and has exceeded the Fed's target for more than five consecutive years.