Powell Appointed as Interim Fed Chair Pending Walsh's Official Swearing-In

The Federal Reserve announced on Friday the appointment of Jerome Powell as interim Chair of the Federal Reserve Board, pending the formal swearing-in of his successor, Philip N. Jefferson. According to a Fed statement, Powell's four-year term as Chair officially concluded on Friday. Although the U.S. Senate confirmed Jefferson earlier this week as the next Fed Chair, he has not yet completed the formal swearing-in process and thus has not assumed leadership of the central bank.

The Fed stated, "Appointing the current Chair as interim Chair during the transition period is consistent with past practices in similar transitions." The vote resulted in 5 in favor and 1 against. Fed Governor Lisa D. Cook voted against the motion, while Vice Chair for Supervision Michael S. Barr abstained.

A Fed spokesperson declined to specify when Jefferson is expected to complete the swearing-in. According to procedure, U.S. President Joe Biden must first sign Jefferson's formal appointment documents before he can officially assume duties. Meanwhile, Jefferson has previously committed to divesting his substantial financial holdings before taking office.

In a joint statement, Barr and Cook expressed support for Powell serving as interim Chair but emphasized that the arrangement should have a defined time limit. They noted, "Given that the successor Chair has been confirmed and is expected to be sworn in shortly, we believe the interim Chair arrangement should be limited to a finite period—at least one week and, if necessary, extended to a maximum of one month to address potential delays."

They further stated that if the new Chair has not officially assumed office within this period, the interim Chair arrangement should be resubmitted for a vote by the Federal Reserve Board or require further action by the President. In their statement, they emphasized that they had previously discussed this issue with the Fed's General Counsel. The statement read, "As we do not support an open-ended interim Chair arrangement, we cannot support the current decision."