Commentary
Michael Ng and Michael Ng Former Research Analyst - Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy, The Brookings Institution
David Wessel David Wessel Director - The Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy, Senior Fellow - Economic Studies @davidmwessel
Michael Ng and Michael Ng Former Research Analyst - Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy, The Brookings Institution David Wessel Director - The Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy, Senior Fellow - Economic Studies @davidmwessel
November 27, 2017
Editor's note:
This updates the information contained ina September 2016 postfrom Peter Olson and David Wessel on the same topic. This post was recently edited to reflect the news that Janet Yellen will not continue to serve on the Board of Governors after Jerome Powell is sworn in as Fed Chair.
New York Fed President William Dudley has announced that he will be retiring in mid-2018, several months before the end of his term in January 2019. The presidency of the Richmond Fed also remains vacant after Jeffery Lacker unexpectedly resigned in April 2017. After these openings for regional Fed Presidents are filled however, there may not be new vacancies for some time.
Here is the rule: Presidents of regional Fed banks can serve until they’re 65, unless appointed after turning 55, in which case they can serve for a maximum of 10 years or until they’re 75, whichever comes first. Mr. Dudley, appointed on January 27th, 2009, at the age of 57, fell into the second category, which meant his 10 years would have been up January 26th, 2019. A search for his successor is underway.
Who’s next? The short answer: No one has to go soon. The next Fed bank president who must step down is the Boston Fed’s Eric Rosengren, but not until 2022.
| Name | Must Leave By | Bank | Age Now | Age Appointed |
| Dudley | January 2019 | New York | 65 | 57 |
| Rosengren | June 2022 | Boston | 60 | 50 |
| Evans | January 2023 | Chicago | 59 | 49 |
| George | January 2023 | Kansas City | 59 | 53 |
| Mester | May 2024 | Cleveland | 59 | 55 |
| Harker | June 2025 | Philadelphia | 59 | 56 |
| Kaplan | September 2025 | Dallas | 60 | 58 |
| Bullard | February 2026 | St. Louis | 56 | 47 |
| Williams | June 2027 | San Francisco | 55 | 48 |
| Bostic | May 2031 | Atlanta | 51 | 51 |
| Kashkari | July 2038 | Minneapolis | 44 | 42 |
| Mullinix* | Richmond |
*interim president.
The newest Fed regional president, Raphael Bostic of Atlanta, could serve until 2031. However, Neel Kashkari, who is younger than President Bostic, can serve all the way through 2038. There is (at least) one technicality, though. Presidents of the 12 regional Fed banks are up for reappointment every five years. The Fed’s Board of Governors in Washington could replace any one of them, though it hasn’t ever been done.
There have also been significant changes recently at the seven-member Fed Board of Governors in Washington. Vice Chair Stanley Fischer has resigned. President Trump’s pick for the Fed’s Vice-Chair of Supervision, Randal Quarles, has been confirmed by the Senate by a vote of 65-32. And the President has nominated Jerome Powell, a sitting Fed governor, to succeed Janet Yellen as Fed chair when her term expires on February 3rd, 2018. Chair Yellen’s term as a governor doesn’t expire until 2024, but she has said she will resign when Mr. Powell is confirmed by the Senate and sworn in. All this leaves four seats on the Fed board for President Trump to fill, one of whom will be Vice Chair (succeeding Mr. Fischer) and one of whom must by law be a person with community banking experience.
The terms of the Fed’s Board in Washington, by the way, are quite different from regional Fed Presidents. Fed Governors serve on fixed 14-year terms that are staggered so that one term usually expires every one or two years. If governors leave before their term is up, their successor completes their term. Governors filling unexpired terms can still be appointed to a new one, meaning that they can serve for more than 14 years. Only two Fed governors however, have served for over 14 years in the past half-century of Fed history. The median term length was a little over 5 years.
| Fed Board Member | Age | Term Expires |
| Randal Quarles* | 60 | January 2018 |
| Janet Yellen** | 71 | January 2024 |
| Lael Brainard*** | 55 | January 2026 |
| Jerome Powell | 64 | January 2028 |
*Filling an unexpired term, so could be reappointed. Term as Vice-Chair does not expire until October 2021.
**Term as Chair expires in February 2018. She has said she will resign when the Senate confirms her successor as Chair.
***Filling an unexpired term, so could be reappointed.
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Authors
Michael Ng Former Research Analyst - Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy, The Brookings Institution
David Wessel Director - The Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy, Senior Fellow - Economic Studies @davidmwessel
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