White House Likely to Nominate Philip Jefferson for Fed Seat

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The White House is likely to nominate economist Philip Jefferson for a seat on the Federal Reserve's board of governors, according to people familiar with the matter, an appointment that would make him just the fourth Black man to hold the position in the central bank's more than 100-year history.

With a doctorate in economics from the University of Virginia, Jefferson is the vice president for academic affairs, dean of faculty and an economics professor at Davidson College in North Carolina. He has worked at the Federal Reserve twice before, serving as an economist in the board's monetary affairs division from 1996 to 1997, and as a research assistant in the fiscal analysis section from 1983 to 1985.

Jefferson didn't respond to a request seeking comment. White House communications staff declined to comment. The Wall Street Journal earlier reported the White House was considering him.

After nominating Fed Chair Jerome Powell to a second term at the helm and Governor Lael Brainard to be vice chair in November, President Joe Biden has three more seats to fill on the board, including a new vice chair for supervision.

Jefferson's selection comes as the Fed faces criticism for the lack of diversity in its ranks, especially at the highest levels of leadership. Since its founding in 1913, just three of the central bank's governors have been African-American -- all of them male -- and 10 have been women, all of them White. The board's serving governors, led by Powell, are currently all White and include two women.

Jefferson has authored and edited books and articles on poverty, and has focused his teaching on inequality. He has taught at Columbia University, the University of Virginia, Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania, and was a visiting assistant research economist at the University of California, Berkeley.