WASHINGTON – The president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, Esther George, said Wednesday that she will retire in January, as required by the Fed's mandatory retirement rules.
George, who has typically supported higher interest rates to ward off inflation — a “hawk,” in Fed parlance — spent 40 years at the Kansas City Fed and became president nearly 11 years ago. Historically, Kansas City Fed presidents have had hawkish views, so her retirement may not have a significant impact on interest rate policy.
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George's departure will extend a period of significant turnover among top Fed officials, just as the central bank is confronting the worst inflation in 40 years. The president of the Chicago Fed, Charles Evans, also faces a mandatory retirement in the coming months.
The Senate this month confirmed two new members to the Fed's board of governors in Washington, and also approved Chair Jerome Powell to a second four-year term. Governor Lael Brainard was confirmed as Vice Chair, replacing Richard Clarida, who resigned in January.
The turnover has increased the Fed's diversity. Biden's two new governors, Lisa Cook and Philip Jefferson, are the fourth and fifth Black governors in the Fed's 108-year history.
And on July 1, Susan Collins, an economist and provost at the University of Michigan, will become president of the Boston Federal Reserve, the first Black woman to run a regional Fed bank.
In August, Lorie Logan, an executive vice president at the New York Federal Reserve, will become president of the Dallas Fed. Logan currently oversees the Fed's trillions of dollars of Treasury and mortgage-backed bond holdings.