Federal Reserve Board of Governors


The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, commonly known as the Federal Reserve Board, is the main governing body of the Federal Reserve System. It is charged with overseeing the Federal Reserve Banks and with helping implement the monetary policy of the United States. Governors are appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the Senate for staggered 14-year terms.

Statutory description

By law, the appointments must yield a "fair representation of the financial, agricultural, industrial, and commercial interests and geographical divisions of the country". As stipulated in the Banking Act of 1935, the Chair and Vice Chair of the Board are two of seven members of the Board of Governors who are appointed by the President from among the sitting Governors.
The terms of the seven members of the Board span multiple presidential and congressional terms. Once a member of the Board of Governors is appointed by the president, he or she functions mostly independently. Such independence is unanimously supported by major economists. The Board is required to make an annual report of operations to the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. It also supervises and regulates the operations of the Federal Reserve Banks, and the U.S. banking system in general. The Board obtains its funding from charges that it assesses on the Federal Reserve Banks, and not from the federal budget.
Membership is by statute limited in term, and a member that has served for a full 14 year term is not eligible for reappointment. There are numerous occasions where an individual was appointed to serve the remainder of another member's uncompleted term, and has been reappointed to serve a full 14-year term. Since "upon the expiration of their terms of office, members of the Board shall continue to serve until their successors are appointed and have qualified", it is possible for a member to serve for significantly longer than a full term of 14 years. The law provides for the removal of a member of the Board by the President "for cause".
The Chair and Vice Chair of the Board of Governors are appointed by the President from among the sitting Governors. They both serve a four-year term and they can be renominated as many times as the President chooses, until their terms on the Board of Governors expire.
All seven board members of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors and five Federal Reserve Bank presidents direct the open market operations that sets U.S. monetary policy through their membership in the Federal Open Market Committee.
Records of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors are found in the Record Group n. 82 at the National Archives and Records Administration.

Current members

The current members of the Board of Governors are as follows:

Vacancies and pending nominations

Failed nominations

The below were formally nominated to fill a vacant seat but failed to be confirmed by the Senate.
In addition, Steve Moore and Herman Cain were announced, but never formally nominated, to fill Bloom Raskin and Yellen's seats by Donald Trump in 2019 before withdrawing from consideration.

Committees

There are eight committees.
NameRegional BankTerm startTerm endYears servedInitial
appointment		Notes
ChicagoWilsonVice Chair
New YorkWilsonVice Chair
AtlantaWilsonChair
San FranciscoWilson
BostonWilsonChair
New YorkWilsonVice Chair
Chicago0 years, Wilson
New YorkWilsonVice Chair
Cleveland0 years, Wilson
MinneapolisHarding
Chicago0 years, HardingDied in office
ClevelandHardingChair
ChicagoHardingDied in office
St. LouisHarding
MinneapolisCoolidgeChair
New YorkHooverChair
Kansas CityHoover
AtlantaF. RooseveltChair
Kansas CityF. RooseveltVice Chair
ChicagoF. Roosevelt
San FranciscoF. RooseveltChair
New YorkF. Roosevelt
ClevelandF. Roosevelt
AtlantaF. RooseveltVice Chair ; Died in office
Dallas0 years, F. Roosevelt
RichmondF. Roosevelt
New YorkF. Roosevelt
RichmondF. Roosevelt
St. LouisTruman
BostonTrumanDied in office
PhiladelphiaTrumanChair
AtlantaTruman
MinneapolisTruman
New YorkTrumanChair
San FranciscoTruman
Kansas CityTrumanVice Chair
PhiladelphiaEisenhowerVice Chair
Minneapolis0 years, EisenhowerDied in office
DallasEisenhower
AtlantaEisenhower
ChicagoKennedyVice Chair
RichmondKennedy
San FranciscoJohnson
PhiladelphiaJohnson
DallasJohnson
New YorkNixonChair
St. LouisNixon
San FranciscoNixon
Kansas CityNixon
BostonNixon
DallasFord
AtlantaFord
RichmondFord
PhiladelphiaFordVice Chair ; Died in office
MinneapolisFord
San FranciscoCarterChair
ChicagoCarter
New YorkCarter
AtlantaCarterVice Chair
PhiladelphiaCarterChair
Kansas CityCarter
San FranciscoReaganVice Chair
ChicagoReagan
RichmondReaganVice Chair
Kansas CityReagan
San FranciscoReagan
DallasReagan
New YorkReaganChair
BostonReagan
St. LouisG. H. W. BushVice Chair
RichmondG. H. W. Bush
ChicagoG. H. W. Bush
PhiladelphiaClintonVice Chair
San FranciscoClinton
St. LouisClinton
PhiladelphiaClintonVice Chair
RichmondClinton
BostonClintonVice Chair
MinneapolisG. W. Bush
ChicagoG. W. Bush
AtlantaG. W. Bush
Kansas CityG. W. BushVice Chair
AtlantaG. W. BushChair
New YorkG. W. Bush
RichmondG. W. Bush
BostonG. W. Bush
PhiladelphiaG. W. Bush
BostonObama
San FranciscoObamaVice Chair ; Chair
RichmondObama
'Philadelphia'ObamaChair
ChicagoObama
New YorkObamaVice Chair
'Richmond'Obama
'Kansas City'TrumpVice Chair for Supervision
'Boston'TrumpVice Chair
St. LouisTrump

Succession of seats

The Federal Reserve Board has seven seats subject to Senate confirmation, separate from a member's term as chair or vice chair.