Powell votes as a Fed governor this week as Warsh’s committee weighs its next rate move

By Helena Thorncroft

WASHINGTON — Jerome H. Powell, the Georgetown Law graduate who led the Federal Reserve for more than eight years, takes his seat at the central bank’s policy table this week as one of 12 voters rather than its chairman, as the Federal Open Market Committee meets Tuesday and Wednesday under Chairman Kevin Warsh.

The committee’s two-day meeting runs Oct. 27–28, according to the Fed’s October calendar. The policy statement is scheduled for release at 2 p.m. ET Wednesday, followed by Warsh’s press conference at 2:30 p.m.

Powell, 73, served as chair from February 2018 until May 2026, and his separate term as a member of the Board of Governors runs until Jan. 31, 2028, according to his official Fed biography. He earned his law degree from Georgetown University in 1979, where he was editor-in-chief of the Georgetown Law Journal, the biography says. He holds an undergraduate degree in politics from Princeton.

Staying on after the chairmanship

The Senate confirmed Warsh as chairman on May 13, The Associated Press reported. Powell broke with the longstanding custom of departing chairs leaving the board entirely and said he would remain a governor, according to the AP, which reported that he intended to stay at least until a Justice Department inquiry into the Fed’s headquarters renovation is resolved.

President Trump nominated Warsh after publicly criticizing Powell’s handling of interest rates and the cost of the renovation project. The administration has said the Fed was too slow to lower borrowing costs and that the renovation’s cost warranted scrutiny; the Fed has said it sets policy independently under its congressional mandate of maximum employment and stable prices.

Where rates stand

At its last meeting, on Sept. 16, the committee raised its benchmark federal funds rate by a quarter of a percentage point, to a target range of 3.75% to 4%, by a 12–0 vote, according to the Fed’s September statement. Powell was among the voters.

Every governor votes at every meeting, while five of the 12 regional bank presidents rotate into voting seats each year. That makes Powell one of the seven permanent votes on the committee he once chaired, and any dissent or written statement from him would be recorded in the statement and, three weeks later, in the meeting minutes.

It is rare for a former chair to stay on the board under a successor; most chairs have left the Fed when their leadership terms ended.

What to watch Wednesday

The statement lists each member’s vote by name. Analysts will watch whether the committee holds rates after September’s increase, how the statement describes inflation, and whether any member, including Powell, dissents. Warsh will take questions at the press conference; governors do not hold their own briefings after meetings.

The Inquisitor’s earlier coverage of Georgetown alumni in economic policy roles is collected on the Georgetown Alumni page.

The Inquisitor is seeking comment from the Federal Reserve Board’s media relations office and the White House. This story will be updated with any response.

Photo: Jerome H. Powell (cropped). Federal Reserve photo, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.