How Trump could influence the makeup of the Fed

U.S. President Donald Trump has railed often against the Federal Reserve and central bank Chair Jerome Powell for not lowering interest rates, but his options are limited for replacing Fed leadership with officials aligned with his wishes. First, a recent Supreme Court opinion appears to bolster a longstanding interpretation that Powell and Fed governors are protected from efforts to fire them for policy differences.

Second, barring unexpected resignations, Trump may have the chance to nominate just two Board of Governors members during his term. While there's been chatter about Trump making an early nomination for a successor to Powell, whose term as chair ends in May 2026, the next board vacancy will not occur until January, when Governor Adriana Kugler's term expires. Should Powell leave when his chair term ends, that would be the next opportunity. But if Powell opts not to leave, Trump would have to wait until January 2028 when Powell's board seat expires. Here's a look at the Fed system's structure and the selection process.

The FED system

The Federal Reserve System, created by Congress in 1913, comprises the Washington-based Board of Governors; 12 regional Fed banks dotted across the country; and the Federal Open Market Committee, including both Fed board members and regional bank heads. The Fed board has seven members, including an overall chair, two vice chairs - one for monetary policy and one for bank oversight - and four other governors.

All are appointed by the president subject to confirmation by the Senate. Trump succeeded in appointing four board members in his first term and elevated Powell, who was already a governor through an appointment by Trump's predecessor, Democrat Barack Obama, to be Fed chair. All of his appointees - including Powell and current Governors Michelle Bowman and Christopher Waller - have hewn to the tradition of Fed independence. Three nominees who were seen by many as pushing that envelope - Stephen Moore, Judith Shelton and Herman Cain - withdrew or never won Senate confirmation.

Each regional Fed bank has a president appointed by a subcommittee of each bank's board of directors.

The FOMC, which has the all-important role of setting interest rate policy, comprises all seven governors, the president of the New York Fed, and four other regional bank presidents who vote on policy for a year at a time on a rotating basis.

The board now
Fed governors serve 14-year terms or the remainder of a previous incumbent's term. Term expirations are staggered at two-year intervals. The next is due in 2026. Fed chairs and vice chairs serve four-year terms concurrent with their governorships. They typically do not remain as a governor if not re-appointed to their leadership role. The following is a list of current governors, in order of their term expirations with the nearest listed first.

Name	Joined Board	Board Term Ends	Became Chair/Vice Chair	Chair/Vice Term Ends	Notes
Adriana Kugler	9/13/2023	Jan 2026	–	–	–
Jerome Powell	5/12/2012	Jan 2028	Chair since 2/5/2018	May 2026	Reappointed Chair on 5/23/2022
Christopher Waller	12/18/2020	Jan 2030	–	–	–
Michael Barr	7/19/2022	Jan 2032	Vice Chair for Supervision	Feb 2025	Resigned as Vice Chair on 2/28/2025
Michelle Bowman	11/26/2018	Jan 2034	Chair for Supervision (Vice Chair)	June 2029	Became Vice Chair on 1/23/2020
Philip Jefferson	5/23/2022	Jan 2036	Vice Chair since 9/13/2023	Sept 2027	–
Lisa Cook	5/23/2022	Jan 2038	–	–	–

The bank Presidents now
Fed bank presidents are picked by the six non-banker members of their boards of directors, and must be approved by the Fed's board. They can serve until the mandatory retirement age of 65 or, if appointed after age 55, for 10 years or until they reach age 75. The terms of all current bank presidents end in February 2026, when they will be considered for a fresh five-year appointment by the Fed board. This re-upping process historically has not resulted in any change in leadership, but that is custom, not law. The following is a list of the Fed regional bank presidents and their term limit dates, starting with the three whose terms will expire over the course of Trump's time in office.

Federal Reserve Bank	President	Expected End of Term	Notes
Richmond	Thomas Barkin	January 31, 2028
New York	John Williams	June 30, 2028
San Francisco	Mary Daly	September 30, 2028
Atlanta	Raphael Bostic	June 30, 2031
Boston	Susan Collins	July 31, 2032
Kansas City	Jeffrey Schmid	August 31, 2033
St. Louis	Alberto Musalem	April 30, 2034
Chicago	Austan Goolsbee	August 31, 2034
Cleveland	Beth Hammack	January 31, 2037
Philadelphia	Anna Paulson	July 31, 2035	Succeeds Patrick Harker on July 1, 2025
Dallas	Lorie Logan	February 28, 2038
Minneapolis	Neel Kashkari	July 30, 2038