The vice chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System is the second-highest officer of the Federal Reserve, after the chair of the Federal Reserve. In the absence of the chair, the vice chair presides over the meetings of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
The vice chair and the vice chair for supervision each serve a four-year term after being nominated by the president of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate, and they serve concurrently as members of the Board of Governors. Both vice chairs may serve multiple terms, pending a new nomination and confirmation at the end of each term, with Ronald Ransom as the longest serving vice chair from 1936 to 1947. They cannot be dismissed by the president before the end of their term.
The position of vice chair is currently held by Philip Jefferson who was sworn in on September 13, 2023. The position of vice chair for supervision is currently held by Michelle Bowman after Michael Barr's resignation which took effect on February 28, 2025, and her confirmation by a vote of 48–46.
Appointment process As stipulated by the Banking Act of 1935, the president may designated to serve as Vice Chairman of the Board for four-year terms with the advice and consent of the Senate, from among the sitting governors. The Senate Committee responsible for vetting a Federal Reserve vice chair and vice chair for supervision nominees is the Senate Committee on Banking.
Duties of the Fed vice chairs The vice chair of the Board shall serve in the absence of the chair as leader of the Federal Reserve system until chair's replacement was installed by the Senate.
By law, the vice chair, as part of the Board, makes a full report of its operations to the speaker of the House, on progress towards the Fed's responsibilities and monetary policy objectives, which are "maximum employment, stable prices, and moderate long-term interest rates."see
The duties of the vice chair for supervision include developing policy recommendations regarding supervision and regulation for the Board. The vice chairman of supervision reports to Congress semiannually on the efforts of the board with respect to the conduct of supervision and regulation.
By law, the vice chair for supervision shall appear before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and the House Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives and at semi-annual hearings regarding the efforts, activities, objectives, and plans of the Board with respect to the conduct of supervision and regulation of depository institution holding companies and other financial firms supervised by the Board.see
Conflict of interest law The law applicable to the chair, vice chairs and all other members of the board provides (in part):
Salary The Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve and the Vice Chair for Supervision are Level II positions in the Executive Schedule, thus earning the salary prescribed for that level (US$203,700, as of January 2023).
List of Fed vice chairs The following is a list of past and present vice chairs of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. A vice chair serves for a four-year term after appointment, but may be reappointed for several consecutive four-year terms. Since the Federal Reserve was established in 1914, the following people have served as vice chair.
NameTermDurationAppointerStartEnd1August 10, 1914August 9, 1916Woodrow Wilson2August 10, 1916August 9, 19183October 26, 1918March 15, 19204July 23, 1920September 14, 19305August 21, 1934February 10, 1936Franklin D. Roosevelt6August 6, 1936December 2, 19477March 11, 1955February 28, 1966Dwight D. EisenhowerJohn F. Kennedy8March 1, 1966April 30, 1973Lyndon B. JohnsonRichard Nixon9May 1, 1973February 13, 1976Richard Nixon10February 13, 1976November 19, 1978Gerald Ford11July 27, 1979February 11, 1982Jimmy Carter12March 31, 1982April 30, 1986Ronald Reagan13August 4, 1986August 3, 199014July 24, 1991February 14, 1994George H. W. Bush15June 27, 1994January 31, 1996Bill Clinton16June 25, 1996July 16, 199917October 5, 1999April 28, 2006Bill ClintonGeorge W. Bush18June 23, 2006June 23, 2010George W. Bush19October 4, 2010February 3, 2014Barack Obama20June 16, 2014October 16, 201721September 17, 2018January 14, 2022Donald Trump22May 23, 2022February 18, 2023Joe Biden23September 13, 2023Incumbent
List of Fed vice chairs for supervision The Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which came into force on July 21, 2010, required the president to designate, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, a new "Vice Chairman for Supervision," who "shall develop policy recommendations for the Board regarding supervision and regulation of depository institution holding companies and other financial firms supervised by the Board and shall oversee the supervision and regulation of such firms."see Since the Dodd–Frank Act was enacted in 2010, the following people have served as vice chair for supervision.
NameTermDurationAppointerStartEnd1October 13, 2017October 13, 2021Donald Trump2July 19, 2022February 28, 2025Joe Biden3June 9, 2025IncumbentDonald Trump
See also
History of central banking in the United States
Notes
References
Further reading
Beckhart, Benjamin Haggott. 1972. Federal Reserve System. [New York]: American Institute of Banking. Shull, Bernard. 2005. The fourth branch: the Federal Reserve's unlikely rise to power and influence. Westport, Conn.: Praeger.
External links
Nomination hearings, conducted in the Senate, for Chairs and Members of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System