Former Fed Vice Chair Quarles Calls for Ending Governors’ Legal Protection From Dismissal

The Federal Reserve Board has seven governors serving staggered 14-year terms who, by law, may be removed by the president only for cause. Monetary policy is set with the participation of those governors and the 12 regional Federal Reserve Banks. The arrangement is intended to shield interest-rate decisions from electoral politics, meaning any change to removal powers could affect the central bank’s credibility and market expectations.

On April 10, 2026, Randal Quarles, the Fed’s vice chair for supervision from 2017 to 2021, argued that the legal protection allowing governors to be removed only for cause should be abolished, giving the president unrestricted power to appoint and dismiss them. He said the decentralized structure of the 12 regional Fed banks and the Federal Open Market Committee would remain sufficient to insulate policy from short-term political directives. His comments came as the U.S. Supreme Court considered the president’s authority to remove officials at independent agencies.