Cleveland Federal Reserve President Loretta Mester is preparing to cast her final vote on monetary policy decisions at the upcoming meeting scheduled for Wednesday. Mester, who has held the position of president at the Cleveland Fed for the past decade, is set to retire at the end of this month. Her successor, Beth Hammack, has been appointed but will not officially assume the role until August 21.
For the July meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee, Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee will be stepping in to vote on behalf of the Cleveland Fed in Mester's absence. It is worth noting that at each Fed meeting, a total of 12 Fed officials vote, with seven of them being from the Fed's board of governors. The remaining votes come from a rotating panel of regional Fed presidents, with New York Fed President John Williams being the exception.
Goolsbee, who is currently an alternate voter, would not have been scheduled to vote until 2025 under normal circumstances. This temporary adjustment in voting arrangements highlights the meticulous planning and coordination involved in ensuring the smooth functioning of the Federal Reserve system during transitions of leadership.
