Fed Chair Powell says he does not think the different views on the FOMC makes his job more difficult, it is good to have a range of views.

Current Policy/Middle East

There are tensions between the objectives of the Fed (with reference to the dual mandate).
Risks to both sides of the mandate.
Uncertainty on the outlook, as such, the dissenting/differing views are useful. At this point, the fact that there is no unanimity makes sense.
Will get inflation back to target on a sustained basis.
Policy is in a good place to wait and see how the situation plays out.
Tendency to look through supply shocks, but, the Fed must be attentive to inflation expectations. Monitoring this carefully. Inflation expectations appear to be well anchored.
Fed is not yet facing the question of what to do.
Do not yet know what the economic effects of the current situation will turn out to be.

Tariffs

Balance Sheet

Research tends to find that purchasing long-term assets lowers rates and supports the economy, a view Powell shares.
Have not really seen the downside risks to a large balance sheet that many had predicted. No sign that historic bond buying was inflationary.

Financial System

The Fed has significantly hardened the system against losses of the type seen during the 2008 crisis.
Should not attempt to regulate risk out of existence. Should always be vigilant.
Never experienced a major financial cyber attack.
The financial system is resilient.

Private Credit

Private credit is a relatively small part of a large asset pool. Watching it carefully.
Looking for things that could lead to contagion or significant losses.

Jobs

When asked, he said in his advice to the students at Harvard, saying it is a time of very low job creation.
Challenging time to enter the labour market, and may take some patience.

Outlook