Fed Chair Warsh Announces Meeting Overhaul: One Strategy-Only Meeting With No Rate Vote in 2027, Two in 2028
Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh announced at his post-meeting press conference in Washington on October 28 that the Federal Open Market Committee will change how it uses its annual calendar: it will still meet eight times a year, but in 2027 one meeting will focus exclusively on broad monetary policy strategy, with neither a vote on the federal funds rate nor a policy statement anticipated, and in 2028 two meetings will be dedicated to strategy, with six for setting policy.
Earlier that day, the FOMC voted 10-2 to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 3.75% to 4.00%. Governor Lisa D. Cook and Cleveland Fed President Beth M. Hammack preferred a quarter-point increase. Warsh's calendar announcement was the press conference's other major news.
"We believe eight meetings per year is the right number for the (Federal Open Market Committee), but in 2027, one meeting will focus exclusively on broad monetary policy strategy, with neither a vote on the federal funds rate nor a policy statement anticipated," Warsh said. The rest will be regular policy-setting meetings, and he expects two strategy meetings and six policy meetings in 2028.
"Getting policy right involves assessing near-term developments at timely, regular and information-rich intervals," Warsh said. "But it's equally important we reserve time and space as an intellectually diverse group for strategic deliberations, for thinking anew about big questions, looking out over longer time horizons, focusing, as I say, on the left side of the decimal point."
Keeping eight meetings preserves the Fed's regular rhythm while reducing the number of rate-setting sessions. The central bank retains the ability to change policy outside scheduled meetings, as it last did in early 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. The FOMC's final scheduled meeting of this year is December 8-9.
Related: Fed holds rates at 3.75% to 4.00%: FOMC votes 10-2 as Cook and Hammack favor a hike
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于华盛顿的美联储总部埃克尔斯大楼。公共领域，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The Eccles Building, headquarters of the Federal Reserve in Washington. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
