They were not, though, in a panic or worried about an imminent recession. Instead, they were thinking that the old interest rate would not be appropriate going forward.

Michelle Bowman said such a big initial rate cut could complicate the Fed's mission of getting inflation back to its 2% target.

U.S. Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller, one of the more ardent voices in the central bank's battle to hike interest rates to tame inflation, said he supported a larger rate cut this week because he is now worried the pace of price increases is undershooting the Fed's target.