Austan Goolsbee in the Running for Vice Chair of Federal Reserve Board
By The White House is reportedly considering Chicago Federal Reserve President Austan Goolsbee for the post of vice chair of the Fed's Board of Governors.[0] This role is being vacated by Lael Brainard, who announced her departure to become a top White House economics adviser yesterday.[1]
Aged 53, Goolsbee has held the position of head of the Chicago Federal Reserve for only a short time and has not expressed any opinion on monetary policy since taking over from its long-term leader Charles Evans last month.[1] However, in his first Federal Open Market Committee meeting two weeks ago, he voted in favor of the Fed's latest rate hike.[2]
Prior to his current role at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Austan Goolsbee had served as economic adviser to President Barack Obama, and was a professor of economics at the University of Chicago.[2] He hasn’t expressed his views on policy since being named to his current post in December, but voted during the Fed’s Jan. 31 to Feb. 1 meeting to raise interest rates by a quarter percentage point.[2]
If Goolsbee is nominated, he could potentially set the stage for a dramatic shift in the policies of the Fed, given his previous role as a top economic advisor to Obama and his current position at the Chicago Fed. It will be interesting to see how he interacts with the other governors of the Federal Reserve System if he is appointed as vice chair.
0. “Biden Eyes Fed Vacancy With Goolsbee Reported to Be in Mix” Bloomberg, 15 Feb. 2023, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-02-15/white-house-eyes-fed-vacancy-with-goolsbee-reported-to-be-in-mix
1. “Austan Goolsbee under consideration to become Fed’s vice chair – WSJ” Forex Factory, 15 Feb. 2023, https://www.forexfactory.com/news/1205854-austan-goolsbee-under-consideration-to-become-feds-vice
2. “Chicago Fed's Austan Goolsbee May Replace Lael Brainard as Fed Vice Chair” PYMNTS.com, 16 Feb. 2023, https://www.pymnts.com/personnel/2023/chicago-feds-austan-goolsbee-may-replace-lael-brainard-as-fed-vice-chair/
