Two of the four remaining open slots on the leadership boards of federal financial regulators would be filled if two “intended nominees” for the Federal Reserve Board, named in Twitter announcements Tuesday by President Donald Trump, are ultimately confirmed by the Senate.
Judy Shelton, now the U.S. executive director for the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and Christopher Waller, now the executive vice president and director of research for the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, were tapped by Trump in his social media messages. The two would fill (if confirmed by the Senate) two seats on the board that have been open since Janet Yellen (a former chairman) and Stanley Fischer (a former vice chairman) left the board in 2018 and 2017, respectively.
Two seats are also open for nominees on the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC), although one is held by a holdover. Martin Gruenberg, a former chairman of the FDIC Board and whose term expired last fall, remains on the board until a successor is confirmed by the Senate. A second board seat, formerly held by Vice Chairman Thomas Hoenig, is also open (Hoenig left the board in 2018). The White House has not yet named a successor to either seat.
Each Federal Reserve governor is appointed for a 14-year term, with terms staggered so that one term expires on Jan. 31 of each even-numbered year. After serving a full 14-year term, a board member may not be reappointed. According to the Fed, If a member leaves the board before his or her term expires, the person nominated and confirmed to serve the remainder of the term may later be appointed to a full 14-year term.