Answer:
... then the appropriate action for the Federal Reserve to take is a DEFENSIVE open market SALE, everything else held constant.
Explanation:
Defensive open market operations are carried out to temporarily offset fluctuation in the market of securities (either too much or too little demand, or supply).
A defensive pen market sale will lower the supply of reserves without having to change the current interest rates. If it doesn't do anything, the interest rates will probably decrease.
