Contents

• Introduction
• Structure and History
• Current Membership
• Jerome Powell
• Philip Jefferson
• Michael Barr
• Michelle Bowman
• Lisa Cook
• Adriana Kugler
• Christopher Waller
• Historical Membership
• Appointments by President
• Demographic Breakdown
• Length of Service
• Vacancies

Summary

The Federal Reserve (Fed), the U.S. central bank, is led by a seven-member Board of Governors based in Washington, DC.

The President appoints governors for 14-year terms with the advice and consent of the Senate. Governors can be appointed to one full term. They often fill the remaining years of unexpired terms and may then be reappointed to a full term.

The board is led by a chair, who serves a four-year term separate from and concurrent with their term as a governor. The vice chair and vice chair for supervision also serve four-year terms. These appointments are subject to Senate approval.

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in its current form began operating in 1936. Its predecessor, a Federal Reserve Board, which was led by a governor (rather than a chair), began operating in 1914. That earlier iteration included the Secretary of the Treasury and Comptroller of the Currency as ex officio members in addition to members appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate.

The current chair is Jerome Powell, whose term as chair ends in 2026. The current vice chair is Philip Jefferson, whose term as vice chair ends in 2027. The position of vice chair for supervision is currently vacant. The other incumbent governors are Michael Barr, Michelle Bowman, Lisa Cook, Adriana Kugler, and Christopher Waller. The board has been at full strength since September 13, 2023, after the number of vacant seats peaked in 2018 at four.

The "Historical Membership" section of this report contains a list and count of Fed appointments by President since 1936, a demographic breakdown for board members, calculations for lengths of service on the board and as chair, and calculations for periods since 1980 when the board has operated at full strength (no vacancies). It includes two graphics, a scatterplot visualizing the length of service for all board members since the Fed's creation, and a timeline showing vacancies at any given time since roughly 1980. Both graphics are interactive in the HTML version of this report.

For a broader overview of the Fed and its role, see CRS In Focus IF10054, Introduction to Financial Services: The Federal Reserve, by Marc Labonte.

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Introduction

The Federal Reserve (Fed), the U.S. central bank, is led by a seven-member Board of Governors based in Washington, DC. This report provides a summary of the board's structure and history, information about its current members, and selected historical data about Fed governors.

For a broader overview of the Fed and its role, see CRS In Focus IF10054, Introduction to Financial Services: The Federal Reserve, by Marc Labonte.

Structure and History

The Fed's board is formally called the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

The President appoints governors for 14-year terms with the advice and consent of the Senate.¹ Most officials in advice and consent positions may be dismissed by the President at will, but some statutes provide that the President may remove an incumbent only for cause. The Fed's organic act provides that each governor "shall hold office for a term of fourteen years from the expiration of the term of his predecessor, unless sooner removed for cause by the President."²

Governors can be appointed to one full term. They often fill the remaining years of unexpired terms and may then be reappointed to a full term. When a position has a fixed term of office, sometimes a position-specific provision allows an incumbent to "hold over" past the end of an expired term until a new appointee takes office. In the case of the Fed, the President may not appoint governors on an acting basis, but governors may continue to serve after their term expires until a new governor has been appointed to that position.

There are some statutory qualifications for the position. Under 12 U.S.C. §241, no more than one governor "shall be selected from any one Federal Reserve district,"³ and at least one governor must have "demonstrated primary experience working in or supervising community banks having less than $10,000,000,000 in total assets." Governors should also represent the "financial, agricultural, industrial, and commercial interests, and geographic divisions of the country." There are no statutory requirements surrounding the political affiliation of governors.

The board is led by a chair, who serves a four-year term separate from and concurrent with their term as a governor. The two vice chairs also serve four-year terms. These appointments are subject to Senate approval.⁴

The Board of Governors in its current form began operating in February 1936.⁵ Previously, the leader of the Federal Reserve Board was called governor rather than chair, and the board consisted of five presidentially appointed members (six starting in 1922)⁶ plus two ex officio members: the Secretary of the Treasury and Comptroller of the Currency.⁷

Current Membership

Jerome Powell

Governor since May 25, 2012. Term ends January 31, 2028.

• President Barack Obama appointed Powell as governor to unexpired term previously held by Frederic Mishkin (2006-2008). Senate confirmed May 17, 2012 (74-21).
• President Obama reappointed Powell to full term as governor. Senate confirmed June 12, 2014 (67-24).

Chair since February 5, 2018. Term ends May 15, 2026.

• President Donald Trump appointed Powell as chair to succeed Janet Yellen (2014-2018). Senate confirmed January 23, 2018 (84-13).
• President Joe Biden reappointed Powell as chair. Senate confirmed May 12, 2022 (80-19).

Philip Jefferson

Governor since May 23, 2022. Term ends January 31, 2036.

• President Biden appointed Jefferson to full term as governor to succeed Richard Clarida (2018-2022). Senate confirmed May 11, 2022 (91-7).

Vice chair since September 13, 2023. Term ends September 7, 2027.

• President Biden appointed Jefferson as vice chair to succeed Lael Brainard (2022-2023). Senate confirmed September 6, 2023 (88-10).

Michael Barr

Governor since July 19, 2022. Term ends January 31, 2032.

• President Biden appointed Barr as governor to unexpired term previously held by Randal Quarles (2017-2021). Senate confirmed July 13, 2022 (66-28).

Vice chair for supervision from July 19, 2022, to February 28, 2025. Resigned; term was set to end on July 13, 2026.

• President Biden appointed Barr as vice chair for supervision to succeed Quarles. Senate confirmed July 13, 2022 (66-28).

Michelle Bowman

Governor since November 26, 2018. Term ends January 31, 2034.

• President Trump appointed Bowman as governor to unexpired term previously held by Stanley Fischer (2014-2017). Senate confirmed November 15, 2018 (64-34).
• President Trump reappointed Bowman to full term as governor. Senate confirmed September 12, 2019 (60-31).

Lisa Cook

Governor since May 23, 2022. Term ends January 31, 2038.

• President Biden appointed Cook as governor to unexpired term previously held by Janet Yellen (2010-2018). Senate confirmed May 10, 2022 (51-50).
• President Biden reappointed Cook to full term as governor. Senate confirmed September 6, 2023 (51-47).

Adriana Kugler

Governor since September 13, 2023. Term ends January 31, 2026.

• President Biden appointed Kugler as governor to unexpired term previously held by Lael Brainard (2014-2023). Senate confirmed September 7, 2023 (53-45).

Christopher Waller

Governor since December 18, 2020. Term ends January 31, 2030.

• President Trump appointed Waller as governor to unexpired term, succeeding Sarah Bloom Raskin (2010-2014). Senate confirmed December 3, 2020 (48-47).

Historical Membership

Information about the Fed board's historical membership is organized into four sections:

• "Appointments by President" identifies governor appointments and reappointments since 1936 by the President who made the nomination (Table 1).
• "Demographic Breakdown" provides summaries by race, ethnicity, and sex.
• "Length of Service" provides information about how long Fed governors and chairs have remained in office, including an interactive scatterplot (Figure 1) showing all board members since the Federal Reserve Act's enactment in 1913 and a table (Table 2) for all chairs since the Fed's 1936 reorganization.
• "Vacancies" describes empty seats on the Fed board since 1980, including a table showing when the board has been at full strength (Table 3) and an interactive timeline of vacancies (Figure 2).

Appointments by President

A complete list of board members since 1914 is available on the Fed's website.⁸

The number and names of people appointed as governors by each President since 1936 appear in Table 1. (A reappointment is an appointment of an incumbent governor who was initially appointed to serve a partial term by either the same or a different President, or the second appointment for a governor with noncontinuous service.⁹)

Demographic Breakdown

Since 1914, 112 individuals have served on the Fed's Washington DC-based board.¹⁰ Twelve have been women, five have been Black, and one has been Hispanic.¹¹

Andrew Brimmer, the first Black governor, took office in 1966 and served until 1974. He was followed by Emmett Rice (1979-1986), Roger Ferguson Jr. (1997-2006), Lisa Cook (2022-present), and Philip Jefferson (2022-present).

The first woman on the board, Nancy Teeters, served as a governor from 1978 to 1984. She was followed by Martha Seger (1984-1991), Susan Phillips (1991-1998), Janet Yellen (1994-1997 and 2010-2018), Alice Rivlin (1996-1999), Susan Bies (2001-2007), Elizabeth Duke (2008-2013), Sarah Bloom Raskin (2010-2014), Lael Brainard (2014-2023), Michelle Bowman (2018-present), Cook (2022-present), and Adriana Kugler (2023-present).

Kugler, who took office in 2023, is the first Hispanic governor.

Length of Service

The lengths of service for Fed governors are depicted in Figure 1, a scatterplot, organized chronologically according to when they joined the board. Governors are appointed to 14-year terms, but many are appointed to finish unexpired terms or resign before their terms have ended, and so tenures of individual governors vary widely.

Figure 1 . Federal Reserve Board Members, 1913-2024

Figure is interactive in the HTML version of this report.

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Charles', '1/05/1976 - 2/07/1986', 'n/a', 'Richmond', '3,687 days'], [386380800000, 1492, 'Martin, Preston', '3/31/1982 - 4/30/1986', 'n/a', 'San Francisco', '1,492 days'], [131932800000, 4666, 'Wallich, Henry C.', '3/08/1974 - 12/15/1986', 'n/a', 'Boston', '4,666 days'], [298684800000, 2752, 'Rice, Emmett J.', '6/20/1979 - 12/31/1986', 'n/a', 'New York', '2,752 days'], [524793600000, 1078, 'Heller, H. Robert', '8/19/1986 - 7/31/1989', 'n/a', 'San Francisco', '1,078 days'], [508118400000, 1639, 'Johnson, Manuel H.', '2/07/1986 - 8/03/1990', 'n/a', 'Richmond', '1,639 days'], [457574400000, 2444, 'Seger, Martha R.', '7/02/1984 - 3/11/1991', 'n/a', 'Chicago', '2,444 days'], [508118400000, 2925, 'Angell, Wayne D.', '2/07/1986 - 2/09/1994', 'n/a', 'Kansas City', '2,925 days'], [643248000000, 1366, 'Mullins, David W., Jr.', '5/21/1990 - 2/14/1994', 'n/a', 'St. Louis', '1,366 days'], [587606400000, 2450, 'LaWare, John P.', '8/15/1988 - 4/30/1995', 'n/a', 'Boston', '2,450 days'], [772675200000, 584, 'Blinder, Alan S.', '6/27/1994 - 1/31/1996', 'n/a', 'Philadelphia', '584 days'], [691113600000, 1899, 'Lindsey, Lawrence B.', '11/26/1991 - 2/05/1997', 'n/a', 'Richmond', '1,899 days'], [691632000000, 2403, 'Phillips, Susan M.', '12/02/1991 - 6/30/1998', 'n/a', 'Chicago', '2,403 days'], [835660800000, 1117, 'Rivlin, Alice M.', '6/25/1996 - 7/16/1999', 'n/a', 'Philadelphia', '1,117 days'], [835574400000, 2048, 'Meyer, Laurence H.', '6/24/1996 - 1/31/2002', 'n/a', 'St. Louis', '2,048 days'], [878688000000, 2857, 'Gramlich, Edward M.', '11/05/1997 - 8/31/2005', 'n/a', 'Richmond', '2,857 days'], [1007683200000, 1667, 'Olson, Mark W.', '12/07/2001 - 6/30/2006', 'n/a', 'Minneapolis', '1,667 days'], [1007683200000, 1940, 'Bies, Susan S.', '12/07/2001 - 3/30/2007', 'n/a', 'Chicago', '1,940 days'], [1157414400000, 727, 'Mishkin, Frederic S.', '9/05/2006 - 8/31/2008', 'n/a', 'Boston', '727 days'], [1141171200000, 1058, 'Kroszner, Randall S.', '3/01/2006 - 1/21/2009', 'n/a', 'Richmond', '1,058 days'], [1028505600000, 2950, 'Kohn, Donald L.', '8/05/2002 - 9/01/2010', 'n/a', 'Kansas City', '2,950 days'], [1140739200000, 1864, 'Warsh, Kevin M.', '2/24/2006 - 4/02/2011', 'n/a', 'New York', '1,864 days'], [1217894400000, 1853, 'Duke, Elizabeth A.', '8/05/2008 - 8/31/2013', 'n/a', 'Philadelphia', '1,853 days'], [1286150400000, 1257, 'Raskin, Sarah Bloom', '10/04/2010 - 3/13/2014', 'n/a', 'Richmond', '1,257 days'], [1338336000000, 729, 'Stein, Jeremy C.', '5/30/2012 - 5/28/2014', 'n/a', 'Chicago', '729 days'], [1233100800000, 2990, 'Tarullo, Daniel K.', '1/28/2009 - 4/05/2017', 'n/a', 'Boston', '2,990 days'], [1401235200000, 1238, 'Fischer, Stanley', '5/28/2014 - 10/16/2017', 'n/a', 'New York', '1,238 days'], [1507852800000, 1535, 'Quarles, Randal K.', '10/13/2017 - 12/25/2021', 'n/a', 'Kansas City', '1,535 days'], [1537142400000, 1216, 'Clarida, Richard H.', '9/17/2018 - 1/14/2022', 'n/a', 'Boston', '1,216 days'], [1402876800000, 3170, 'Brainard, Lael', '6/16/2014 - 2/18/2023', 'n/a', 'Richmond', '3,170 days'], [-1057795200000, 1756, 'Davis, Chester C.', '6/25/1936 - 4/15/1941', 'Reappointed 1940.', 'Richmond', '1,756 days'], [-1070150400000, 4321, 'Ransom, Ronald', '2/03/1936 - 12/02/1947', 'Reappointed 1942.', 'Atlanta', '4,321 days'], [-563932800000, 4760, 'Mills, A.L., Jr.', '2/18/1952 - 2/28/1965', 'Reappointed 1958.', 'San Francisco', '4,760 days'], [-339984000000, 1639, 'King, G.H., Jr.', '3/25/1959 - 9/18/1963', 'Reappointed 1960.', 'Atlanta', '1,639 days'], [-263088000000, 5280, 'Mitchell, George W.', '8/31/1961 - 2/13/1976', 'Reappointed 1962.', 'Chicago', '5,280 days'], [-563932800000, 7743, 'Robertson, J.L.', '2/18/1952 - 4/30/1973', 'Reappointed 1964.', 'Kansas City', '7,743 days'], [-84326400000, 1660, 'Sherrill, William W.', '5/01/1967 - 11/15/1971', 'Reappointed 1968.', 'Dallas', '1,660 days'], [548985600000, 5334, 'Kelley, Edward W., Jr.', '5/26/1987 - 12/31/2001', 'Reappointed 1990.', 'Dallas', '5,334 days'], [878688000000, 3097, 'Ferguson, Roger Jr.', '11/05/1997 - 4/28/2006', 'Reappointed 2001.', 'Boston', '3,097 days'], [1028505600000, 1052, 'Bernanke, Ben S.', '8/05/2002 - 6/21/2005', 'See separate entry for 2006-2014 term.', 'Atlanta', '1,052 days'], [776649600000, 921, 'Yellen, Janet L.', '8/12/1994 - 2/17/1997', 'See separate entry for 2014-2018 term.', 'San Francisco', '921 days'], [-1748131200000, 1442, 'Delano, Frederic A.', '8/10/1914 - 7/21/1918', 'n/a', 'Chicago', '1,442 days'], [-1748131200000, 1461, 'Warburg, Paul M.', '8/10/1914 - 8/09/1918', 'n/a', 'New York', '1,461 days'], [-1615248000000, 507, 'Strauss, Albert', '10/26/1918 - 3/15/1920', 'n/a', 'New York', '507 days'], [-1582416000000, 274, 'Moehlenpah, Henry A.', '11/10/1919 - 8/09/1920', 'n/a', 'Chicago', '274 days'], [-1554422400000, 157, 'Wills, David C.', '9/29/1920 - 3/04/1921', 'n/a', 'Cleveland', '157 days'], [-1477008000000, 9, 'Campbell, Milo D.', '3/14/1923 - 3/22/1923', 'n/a', 'Chicago', '9 days'], [-1534982400000, 731, 'Mitchell, John R.', '5/12/1921 - 5/12/1923', 'n/a', 'Minneapolis', '731 days'], [-1471737600000, 2756, 'Cunningham, Edward H.', '5/14/1923 - 11/28/1930', 'n/a', 'Chicago', '2,756 days'], [-1218931200000, 618, 'Magee, Wayland W.', '5/18/1931 - 1/24/1933', 'n/a', 'Kansas City', '618 days'], [-1153440000000, 972, 'Thomas, J.J.', '6/14/1933 - 2/10/1936', 'n/a', 'Kansas City', '972 days'], [-1748131200000, 7848, 'Miller, Adolph C.', '8/10/1914 - 2/03/1936', 'Originally appointed from San Francisco district, reappointed 1924. Reappointed 1934 from Richmond district.', 'San Francisco; Richmond', '7,848 days'], [-1564185600000, 3751, 'Platt, Edmund', '6/08/1920 - 9/14/1930', 'Reappointed 1928.', 'New York', '3,751 days'], [-1471737600000, 4649, 'James, George R.', '5/14/1923 - 2/03/1936', 'Reappointed 1931.', 'St. Louis', '4,649 days'], ], keys: ['x', 'y', 'Name', 'service', 'notes', 'district', 'lengthOfServ'] }, { name: 'Governor (Incumbent)', showInLegend: true, color: 'rgba(200, 32, 47, 0.7)', marker: { symbol: 'circle', radius: 6, lineWidth: 1.5, lineColor: 'black', }, data: [ [1694563200000, 259, 'Kugler, Adriana D.', '9/13/2023 - n/a', 'Incumbent', 'Richmond', '259 days (as of 9/1/2024)'], [1658188800000, 680, 'Barr, Michael S.', '7/19/2022 - n/a', 'Incumbent', 'Chicago', '680 days (as of 9/1/2024)'], [1653264000000, 737, 'Jefferson, Philip N.', '5/23/2022 - n/a', 'Incumbent', 'New York', '737 days (as of 9/1/2024)'], [1608249600000, 1258, 'Waller, Christopher J.', '12/18/2020 - n/a', 'Incumbent', 'Minneapolis', '1,258 days (as of 9/1/2024)'], [1543190400000, 2011, 'Bowman, Michelle W.', '11/26/2018 - n/a', 'Incumbent. 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Source: CRS calculations based on service dates from the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

Notes: The interactive version of this graphic allows users to zoom in on specific stretches of time and access information on each individual's service by hovering over their dot. 1,000 days is roughly two years and nine months.

The Fed's board was reorganized in February 1936. Before then, the Secretary of the Treasury and Comptroller of the Currency served as ex officio members, the board's leader was known as the governor rather than the chair, and board members were known as members rather than governors. In this chart, all pre-February 1936 governors are designated as chairs for consistency, and pre-February 1936 members are combined with post-February 1936 governors in a governor/member category. Two individuals served on the board both before and after the reorganization: Marriner Eccles and M. S. Szymczak.

Ben Bernanke, Daniel Crissinger, and Janet Yellen are each represented by two dots due to breaks in service. Current incumbents are indicated by red borders around their dots. Length of service for incumbent members is calculated as of September 1, 2024. Two individuals (Charles Hamlin and Adolph Miller) started on the same day (August 10, 1914) and served the same length of time (7,848 days); Miller's dot and Hamlin's dot have been spaced slightly apart to avoid placing them in precisely the same position. In some cases, the length of service for chairs includes service as governors before or after they became chairs.

M. S. Szymczak, who served nearly 28 years (10,214 days, from June 14, 1933, to May 31, 1961), holds the record for longest service on the board. The shortest-serving member was Milo Campbell, who died on March 22, 1923—his ninth day in office.

Among members serving after the board's reorganization in February 1936,¹² the average (mean) length of service has been 6.9 years (2,528 days), and the median length of service has been 5.3 years (1,932 days).

Table 2 shows length of service for chairs and which Presidents appointed them. William McChesney Martin Jr. had the longest service at 18.8 years (6,880 days). G. William Miller had the shortest service at 1.4 years (517 days). As of September 1, 2024, incumbent Chair Powell had served in the role for 6.6 years (2,401 days). The median service for chairs is eight years (2,922 days).

Vacancies

The board has been at full membership since September 13, 2023. Table 3 shows all periods since 1980 when all seven seats have been filled.

Figure 2, a timeline, shows the number of vacancies at any given time during the roughly 45-year period between August 6, 1979 and September 1, 2024. It shows the board experienced as many as four simultaneous vacancies during this period, which left as few as three governors in place.

The number of vacancies has varied over time for several reasons, including the frequency of resignations; the length of time taken for the President to appoint and the Senate to confirm nominees; and political dynamics among the President, the Senate majority party, and the Senate minority party.

Figure 2 . Timeline of Fed Board Vacancies, 1980-2024

Timeline is interactive in the HTML version of this report

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Source: CRS calculations based on service dates from the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and succession information derived from nominations in Congress.gov and the American Presidency Project database.

Notes: Timeline begins on August 6, 1979 and ends on September 1, 2024.

Figure 1 was prepared by Brion A. Long, Visual Information Specialist. Figure 2 was prepared by Amber Wilhelm, Visual Information Specialist.

Footnotes

1.	12 U.S.C. §241.
2.	12 U.S.C. §242.
3.	The 12 districts each contain a city that is home to a Federal Reserve bank: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Kansas City, Minneapolis, New York, Philadelphia, Richmond, San Francisco, and St. Louis. Those banks are led by presidents who participate in monetary policy decisions through the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). For more information, see CRS In Focus IF11751, Introduction to U.S. Economy: Monetary Policy, by Marc Labonte.
4.	Presidential designation as chair or vice chair did not require Senate confirmation prior to the Federal Reserve Reform Act of 1977, 91 Stat. 1387. Congress established the vice chair for supervision as a Senate-confirmed position in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, 124 Stat. 1376.
5.	Banking Act of 1935, 49 Stat. 684. The amendments to the Federal Reserve Act that changed the structure of the Fed are found in title II, 49 Stat. 703.
6.	An act to amend the Federal Reserve Act approved December 23, 1913, 42 Stat. 620.
7.	Federal Reserve Act of 1913, 38 Stat. 251.
8.	Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Board of Governors Members, 1914-Present, https://www.federalreserve.gov/aboutthefed/bios/board/boardmembership.htm.
9.	Two governors have had noncontinuous service since 1936: Janet Yellen (1994-1997 and 2010-2018) and Ben Bernanke (2002-2005 and 2006-2014).
10.	This count includes 13 people who served on the board before February 1936 due to their positions as Secretary of the Treasury or Comptroller of the Currency. One, Daniel Crissinger, held an ex officio seat as Comptroller of the Currency in 1921-1923 and then served on the board as a presidentially appointed member in 1923-1927. The other 12 sat on the board solely in ex officio roles.
11.	Identifications in this section are based on profiles on the Federal Reserve History website (https://www.federalreservehistory.org) and historical materials in the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis's FRASER database (https://fraser.stlouisfed.org) as well as speeches, interviews, press releases, and news articles.
12.	These calculations exclude current incumbents, treat periods of noncontinuous service as separate tenures, and include two members who continuously served on both the pre- and post-1936 boards (Marriner Eccles and M. S. Szymczak).