Kansas City Fed President Jeff Schmid stated at Jackson Hole on August 27 that given inflation remains significantly above the 2% target (the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge rose 3.7% year-over-year as of July), current short-term interest rates "may still be accommodative," and frankly said, "we have more work to do." He emphasized that political factors such as midterm elections will not influence his interest rate decisions, and policy judgments will be determined by economic data and inflation trends.