Surprisingly weak July hiring data released on Friday highlighted a fractious Federal Reserve debate over whether the central bank should have cut interest rates when it met this week, as it offered some support to those who’d favored an easing in borrowing costs.

"With economic growth slowing this year and signs of a less dynamic labor market, I saw it as appropriate to begin gradually moving our moderately restrictive policy stance toward a neutral setting," Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman said in a statement.

The central bank this week kept interest rates steady for a fifth-straight meeting, prompting the first double dissent from members of the powerful Board of Governors since 1993.

President Trump called on the Federal Reserve board to 'assume control' if Chair Jerome Powell does not lower interest rates, escalating his ongoing feud with the central bank’s head.

Americans shopping for a mortgage may want to hold tight for now. At its July 30 meeting, the Federal Reserve did not deliver a rate cut. The majority of members voted to leave the federal funds rate unchanged at 4.