Who decides the Fed interest rate?
The U.S. federal funds rate is decided by the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), not by the Chair acting alone.
The FOMC has 12 voting members
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7 members of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors
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1 president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (permanent voter)
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4 presidents from other regional Federal Reserve Banks (rotate annually)
? Each has one vote.
? A majority vote decides whether rates go up, down, or stay the same.