The White House mulls nominating Austan Goolsbee, Chicago Federal Reserve President, as vice chair of the Fed's Board of Governors. The role will be vacant following Lael Brainard's departure to join the National Economic Council. Goolsbee has been in his current role for a month and has yet to make any public comments about monetary policy. The Fed vice chair typically holds a PhD in economics and is responsible for forming US monetary policy.
Goolsbee's Background and Brainard's Resignation
Goolsbee served as the head of the White House Council of Economic Advisers during the Obama administration and held a PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Brainard has been a Fed board member since 2014 and became vice chair last May. She recently announced her resignation and will leave the Fed around Feb. 20th to take up her new role.
Goolsbee's First Federal Open Market Committee Meeting
Goolsbee voted in favor of the Fed's latest rate hike in his first Federal Open Market Committee meeting two weeks ago. The Wall Street Journal's report cited unnamed individuals familiar with the situation. Like Brainard, he had previously noted the risks the Fed faces in raising interest rates too quickly.
