**[Fed Minutes First Mention Rate Hike Possibility, Policymakers Show Significant Division on Rate Direction]** According to Jintou News, Federal Reserve policymakers almost unanimously agreed to keep interest rates unchanged at last month's meeting, but there remains division over subsequent actions: if inflation remains persistently high, "some" officials are willing to support a rate hike; if inflation falls as expected, other officials lean toward further rate cuts. Meanwhile, all officials are addressing the new impacts of artificial intelligence on the economy. The divisions revealed in these minutes are part of the content of Fed Chair Jerome Powell's third-to-last meeting, highlighting the challenges ahead for former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh—nominated by U.S. President Donald Trump to succeed Powell in May. Warsh will need to persuade the policy-making committee to support the rate-cut measures advocated by Trump. The minutes state that, given artificial intelligence is seen as having both immense potential and risks with uncertainties, the Fed's decision last month to pause monetary easing was appropriate, allowing time to assess the current state of the economy after last year's 75-basis-point rate cut. Only a "few" policymakers supported further action during the meeting. Fed Governors Christopher Waller and Stephen Miran both voted against the decision, advocating for rate cuts due to concerns about potential weakening in the labor market. Beyond this, the opinions of the other 17 officials were also divided. For instance, the minutes mentioned for the first time recently that if inflation remains above the Fed's 2% target, a rate hike may be considered. Currently, inflation is about 1 percentage point higher than that target.