Federal Reserve to reduce interest rate votes through 2028

Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh has announced a plan to restructure the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting calendar to allow for more long-term strategic discussions. While the committee will maintain its eight bi-monthly meetings, the number of sessions dedicated to setting interest rates will decrease over the coming years.

Under the proposed schedule, rate-setting sessions will drop to seven in 2027 and six in 2028. The remaining meetings in those years will focus on monetary policy strategy rather than voting on the federal funds rate. Warsh noted that these strategy sessions are not expected to be followed by standard monetary policy statements.

The announcement coincided with the Fed's decision to keep benchmark interest rates unchanged at 3.75 to 4 percent. Warsh described the calendar change as an institutional choice intended to improve the quality of deliberations by providing policymakers with dedicated time to address large-scale issues and long-term perspectives.