Late this afternoon a potential Federal Reserve Board nominee popped up again on an otherwise slow news day. North Carolina Davidson College’s Phillip Jefferson, vice president of academic affairs and faculty dean, reportedly is being considered for a Federal Reserve Board slot. There were similar reports last week of the White House considering his appointment.
Jefferson is a PhD economist with staff experience at the Washington Fed headquarters and the market-facing Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and an African American. Jefferson’s qualifications seem to fit the White House objectives of appointing proven, younger and non-traditional candidates to join Governors Christopher Waller, Michelle Bowman as one of the two other non-leadership members. If the rumor is accurate, Jefferson’s research background would differentiate him from all four current members including Chair Jerome Powell as well as vice chair nominee and current Governor Lael Brainard.
The reactions of three senators will be particularly important. North Carolina Republican Senator Thom Tillis sits on the Banking Committee that considers Federal Reserve nominations, as does fellow Republican Tim Scott of South Carolina, the party’s only African American in the Senate. West Virginia’s Senator Joe Manchin isn’t on Banking but his regular conversations with the White House on macroeconomic policy would suggest he too might have been consulted on Fed picks.
