Key Highlights

  • From 2027 the Fed schedules eight meetings a year, with one for strategy and seven for rate votes.
  • By 2028 six of the eight meetings carry rate votes, and two focus on Monetary Policy strategy.
  • The Fed held rates at 3.75% to 4.00% on Oct. 28 in a 10-2 vote, after raising them in September.
  • October consumer prices rose 0.4%, above forecasts, and the December decision comes a day before November Inflation data.

A Schedule Built Around the Data

The Federal Reserve announced on Oct. 28 that it is changing how often it votes on interest rates. Chair Kevin Warsh told reporters after the meeting that "we believe eight meetings per year is the right number for the FOMC," but that from 2027 one of the eight meetings focuses only on broad monetary policy strategy, with no vote on the federal funds rate. In 2028, two meetings are devoted to strategy and six to setting policy. The Fed has used an eight-meeting schedule since 1981, so the change cuts rate votes to seven in 2027 and six in 2028.

Warsh described the logic in terms of timing. "Getting policy right involves assessing near-term developments at timely, regular, and information-rich intervals," he said, and the Fed must reserve time and space for strategic deliberation. He has also argued that markets lean too heavily on Fed signals rather than on economic data. Fed officials signaled openness to fewer meetings in September.

A Data Problem in December

The timing problem is visible in the coming schedule. The Fed's December meeting is on Dec. 8 and 9, and November inflation data arrives on Dec. 10, the day after policymakers finalize their decision. That leaves them without a read on whether price pressure kept accelerating or began to ease.

The October reading was already a concern. Consumer prices rose 0.4% in October, above forecasts, with core prices up 0.3% against 0.2% anticipated. Coverage of the report said it fueled bets on a December rate increase. The Fed held its target range at 3.75% to 4.00% on Oct. 28 in a 10-2 vote, after a unanimous quarter-point increase in September, its first since 2023. Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack and Governor Lisa Cook voted against the hold, preferring another quarter-point rise. Warsh said inflation "has been running above the Committee's objective for close to 6 years."

A Chair Who Says Little

Since taking over as chair in May, Warsh has issued shorter policy statements and scaled back forward guidance, and he has offered little insight into his thinking in post-meeting news conferences. He formed five task forces, covering communications, the balance sheet, data collection and analysis, the economic impact of artificial intelligence, and inflation analysis. He has floated holding fewer news conferences, but committed to holding them in September, October and December.

The change in style has put weight on other Fed officials, whose public comments now Supply much of the information markets once took from the chair. The two dissents on Oct. 28, from officials who wanted a rate increase, showed that the committee does not speak with one voice.

What Critics Say About Meeting Less

Not everyone agrees with the direction. A professor at Indiana University's Business school said that transparency has greatly reduced Volatility around Fed meetings and that cutting the number of meetings goes in the wrong direction. Supporters, including some economists, argue that fewer meetings would shift attention to economic data and reduce the sense that every meeting has to carry a policy signal.

The risks cut in both directions. With fewer votes, each meeting can become a bigger market event, and the speeches of other committee members draw more scrutiny. In a crisis, unclear guidance could increase swings in markets and borrowing costs, and emergency meetings tend to be highly volatile for markets.

Why Communication Carries More Weight

A committee that votes eight times a year can explain less at each meeting, because the next decision is never far away. One that votes seven times, and then six, leaves longer stretches between decisions, and those stretches are filled by news conferences, statements, speeches and minutes. Warsh has chosen to say less in statements and news conferences, which raises the importance of speeches, minutes and the task force on communications.

The shift also changes the timing of responses. If an inflation shock arrives between votes, the committee has fewer scheduled chances to respond, which could mean larger steps or more reliance on emergency meetings, though no such move has been announced.

What the Reduced Calendar Asks of the Fed

The schedule moves weight from the calendar to the chair's words. The December meeting, which closes before November inflation data arrives, is the first example of the data timing problem the plan is meant to ease, and it is also the last news conference Warsh has committed to this year. Recommendations from the task force on communications, along with the decisions that only the chair controls, such as how often to hold news conferences, show how much guidance substitutes for frequency.

Officials' public comments after the December decision show whether the committee speaks with one voice. The next inflation reports show how large a role longer intervals play in the size of rate moves, and the first strategy-only meeting in 2027 shows what the Fed does with the time it frees.