The selection of the new president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta has lasted seven months. The selection process was forced to restart after the initial round of candidates failed to reach a consensus. At the same time, White House advisers with no formal intervention authority are trying to influence the appointment. Concerns about the political independence of the Federal Reserve are rising again.

"New Federal Reserve News Agency" Nick Timiraos wrote that the Atlanta Fed completed the first batch of finals candidate interviews in April. The original plan was to announce the results in May, but it failed to advance to the approval process of the Federal Reserve Board in Washington, and the selection work immediately stalled.

At the same time, some White House advisers have begun to explore whether they can influence the Fed's internal personnel composition and promote the election of a candidate who is more inclined to the Trump administration in terms of policy stance-the president of the Atlanta Fed will be awarded the Federal Open Market Committee next year (FOMC) of interest rate decisionsRotary Voting。

The impasse comes against the backdrop of a sensitive period of continued pressure on the Fed's independence. Trump has repeatedly sought to pressure Fed officials, including an attempt to fire board member Lisa Cook, although it has not yet succeeded. The delay in the selection process also means that Warsh, who took office as chairman of the Federal Reserve on May 22, will have a say in this appointment.

The selection process for the president of the Atlanta Fed is usually a two-step process: the six directors on the regional Fed board first select candidates and then submit them to the Washington Board of Governors for approval. The two agencies have traditionally coordinated, with the region recommending a candidate acceptable to the Council.

The first batch of candidates for the finals includes Rebecca Patterson, a former hedge fund giant Bridgewater Associates executive and a graduate of the University of Florida. She meets the criteria of the selection committee in terms of management experience and regional background, and is also a favorite candidate for regional directors.

However, she never made it to the second stage of the interview with the Federal Reserve Board, and neither the reason for the delay nor its current status could be confirmed.

Another finalist, Marc Sumerlin, is an economic consultant and a former adviser to the George W. Bush administration. Last year, he interviewed Treasury Secretary Besente about the post of Fed chairman. In 2019, the Trump administration also considered nominating him as a Fed governor. However, the Atlanta Fed ultimately did not advance its candidacy, and he is no longer under consideration.

Gregory Haile, chairman of the board of directors of the Atlanta Fed and head of the selection committee, said in a statement that the committee is conducting a "comprehensive and careful selection" focused on "selecting the best candidates for District 6 while maintaining the integrity of the process".

Although the White House does not have any formal role in the appointment of regional Fed presidents, the pending selection provides room for some presidential advisers to cut in.

One of the candidates discussed by these advisers was Michael Faulkender-who was forced to leave a senior Treasury post last year. Faulkender is currently less advanced than other candidates in the Atlanta Fed's candidate process.

Formally overseeing the process in Washington is Fed Governing Christopher Waller, who has been chairman of the board's regional Fed affairs committee since 2022.

Waller has recently been pressing the regional Fed to cede more operational autonomy, but the regional Fed has resisted plans to centralize its back-office functions. This administrative tension is intertwined with the deeper issues of regional Fed leadership.

The immediate trigger for the selection crisis was the resignation of former Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic in February this year. Bostic, while leading the Atlanta Fed from 2017 to early 2025, publicly disclosed what it described as an unintentional violation of the Fed's investment management regulations in 2022.

The Fed Inspector General's 2024 investigation found no evidence that he used inside information to make investments, but also pointed out that his violations created the superficial impression that he might be acting on confidential information, which may raise questions about his impartiality.

What the Fed's board really worried about last year was not the disclosures themselves, but the political risks they posed.

At the time, multiple deals and ethical controversies had led to the departure of several Fed officials. If Bostic is re-elected, the disclosures could be an excuse for the Trump administration to pressure the Fed to remove him in the future-and in history, no current regional Fed president has ever been removed. Therefore, in the view of some people, the safest way is to avoid leaving this hidden danger from the beginning.

President Trump has been looking for opportunities to remove Fed officials, such as trying to remove Fed Governor Lisa Cook, but has so far been unsuccessful.

Bostic said last year that retirement was a personal decision. He told reporters in December last year that the end of his term was an opportunity to "make myself think seriously" and let him re-examine "the natural transition node in life". He said:

"This is my own decision and a decision I made independently."