Fed Sets Aside Two Strategy Meetings in 2028 and Six for Monetary Policy Decisions
Key Facts
Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh said the Federal Open Market Committee will set aside two meetings for strategy discussions and six for monetary policy decisions in 2028, reallocating its annual schedule to give longer-term deliberations dedicated time. Warsh said the arrangement will begin earlier, with one meeting devoted to strategy in 2027. The 2027 meeting will not include a vote on the federal funds rate, and Warsh does not expect a policy statement afterward. The other six meetings in 2028 will remain dedicated to policy decisions. Warsh said that "eight meetings a year is the right number" for the committee.
The change sets aside some scheduled meetings for strategic discussion instead of using them to set monetary policy, with a clearer distinction in 2028, when the number of policy-setting sessions falls to six. In 2027, one strategy meeting will be held without an interest-rate vote, but the number of remaining policy meetings that year was not included in the available details of the plan. The Fed's official website confirms that the committee holds eight scheduled meetings a year, in addition to meetings it may hold as needed. The scheduled annual total therefore remains eight, while the purpose of some sessions changes. The arrangement puts strategy discussions on a separate date from meetings at which the committee makes policy decisions.
Warsh justified reallocating the time by saying the committee needs to focus on major economic questions and consider longer-term horizons. He said the goal is to "allocate the time and space, as an intellectually diverse group, for strategic deliberations, to rethink the big questions and look at longer-term horizons." He also noted that setting policy requires regularly assessing near-term developments at information-rich intervals. The rationale combines two needs Warsh described: broader discussion of the strategic framework and regular monitoring of developments that feed into policy decisions. He did not say that strategy meetings would include a vote or a policy statement; for the 2027 meeting, he said explicitly that he does not expect a statement afterward.
The announcement follows the October 28, 2026, decision, when the committee kept the federal funds target range at 3.75% to 4%, in a 10-to-2 vote. Lisa Cook and Beth Hammack preferred raising the range by a quarter of a percentage point, dissenting from the decision to hold it steady. In its statement, the committee described economic activity as expanding at a solid pace and said inflation remained elevated. The Fed had raised the range by a quarter of a percentage point in September to 3.75%–4%, and that decision was unanimous, 12 to zero. The difference between the two votes shows that October's decision followed September's unanimous vote but did not receive full support within the committee.
In Wednesday's session on October 28, the S&P 500 rose 0.3%, the Nasdaq Composite advanced by the same amount, and the Dow Jones added 0.2%. The two-year Treasury yield initially moved higher after the rate hold, then reversed course as traders pared expectations for further rate increases. After Warsh's remarks, he said the central bank had made clear it was prepared to act, and Treasury yields briefly declined. An economic research official said the decision reflected "an ongoing balance between inflation concerns and an economy and labor market that have remained relatively resilient." The moves came on decision day as the committee's statement described economic activity as strong and inflation as elevated.
The format of any release after the strategy meetings has yet to be decided. Warsh said that "the decision on the new format for the meetings is relatively recent," adding that details of what the Fed will announce after those sessions have not been settled. The committee's next meeting is scheduled for December 8 and 9, 2026, and is associated with the Summary of Economic Projections, according to the Fed's calendar. Minutes of scheduled meetings are released three weeks after the policy decision. The announced details did not include dates for the strategy meetings in 2027 or 2028, or the format of any announcement that may follow them.