How much power does the Fed chair really have?
How much power does the Fed chair really have?
- February 10, 2026
- Gary Richardson, economics, NPR – Planet Money, Feb. 10, 2026
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Gary Richardson, an economist at UC Irvine who served as the first official historian of the Federal Reserve System …. suggests that the Fed chair's incredible track record of triumphing in committee votes may be partly the result of a give and take between them and the other committee members. Fed chairs, he suggests, read the room in the weeks or months prior to official votes and — seeking a consensus — they reshape their own policy preferences in anticipation of what they know other committee members will want.
For the full story, please visit https://www.npr.org/sections/planet-money/2026/02/10/g-s1-109375/how-much-power-does-the-fed-chair-really-have.
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