The Next Fed Chairman

Jerome Powell’s term as Fed Chairman expires in six months. It gets a little confusing because there are actually two separate appointments.

One nomination is to be a Fed governor. That’s a 14-year term, but members rarely fill out a full term. Powell was appointed in 2012 to fill out a term that expired in 2014. He was then nominated for a full term that expires in 2028.

To be Fed Chairman is a separate nomination and that’s for four years. Powell was already a governor when President Trump appointed him to be Fed Chairman in 2018. The Senate confirmed him as Fed Chair by a vote of 84-13.

President Biden has the option to reappoint him. It’s not uncommon for presidents to reappoint Fed chairs even if they didn’t originally nominate them. Bernanke was appointed by President Bush and President Obama. Greenspan was appointed by Reagan, Bush-41, Clinton and Bush-43.

One name that’s discussed as a possible successor is Lael Brainard. PredictIt has a betting contract for the next Fed Chair.

I don’t place much stock in these online betting markets. In my view, they’re just for fun. However, this look at the current possible replacements seems about right.

Posted by on August 11th, 2021 at 2:31 pm


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