The president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, Raphael Bostic, intends to retire when the five-year term he is serving concludes in February.
In a statement published Wednesday morning, Bostic, who took on the role in 2017, said he was proud of the Atlanta Fed’s accomplishments during his tenure “to turn the lofty goal of an economy that works for everyone into more of a reality.”
All 12 of the Federal Reserve System’s regional bank presidents are up for reappointment on March 1, 2026. Now 59, Bostic would have been eligible for another five-year term before he would have exceeded the Federal Reserve’s mandatory retirement age of 65.
The seven-member Federal Reserve Board of Governors will weigh those appointments while adjusting monetary policy under adverse conditions. Jerome Powell’s term as chair of the Federal Reserve ends in May.
The Fed has a dual mandate to maximize employment and maintain price stability. Rising consumer prices and slowing job creation over the course of 2025 have put each side of the mandate in tension, complicating decisions for policymakers.
By opting for interest rate cuts at their September and October policy meetings, Fed members prioritized softening labor markets over stubbornly high inflation that rose in September at its fastest pace since January.
Though not a current member of the Federal Open Market Committee that votes on policy decisions, Bostic contributed to the quarterly Summary of Economic Projections, or “dot plot” released concurrently with September’s rate decision.
Bostic was one of five participants who penciled in just one rate cut for all of 2025, revealing to The Wall Street Journal in an interview that “the risk to the price-stability mandate is still the most significant.”
The broader consensus among policymakers at the time reflected the likelihood of three total rate cuts in 2025, but a chorus of central bankers has since urged caution on additional easing in December, citing inflationary concerns and stabilizing labor conditions.
Meanwhile, Bostic’s departure will create a leadership vacancy at an independent government institution that the Trump administration has vigorously sought to influence.
President Donald Trump and members of his administration have waged a divisive rate-cut pressure campaign against Powell — who was nominated for the position by Trump in 2018 and renominated by President Joe Biden in 2021 — with Trump and close allies calling for Powell’s termination over his perceived delays in lowering interest rates.
Trump sought to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook from the central bank’s board, citing allegations of mortgage fraud first shared on social media by the Trump-appointed director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Bill Pulte. A court battle ensued, with the Supreme Court set to hear oral arguments in January.
Bostic became the first African American and openly gay president of a regional Federal Reserve Bank in the system’s 111-year history, Wednesday’s announcement noted.
His leadership came under scrutiny when the Fed’s Office of Inspector General published an internal watchdog report in September 2024 finding that he violated policies on how Fed members can trade and invest in stocks. None of Bostic’s trading or investment activities were found to have been based on confidential information, however.
The Atlanta Fed’s board of directors will initiate a nationwide search for his replacement, with a search committee comprised of non-banking members of the board who represent the region’s business community. Selections for regional Federal Reserve Bank presidents do not require Senate confirmation.
Commenting on the retirement announcement in Wednesday’s statement from the Atlanta Fed, Powell said Bostic’s “steady voice has exemplified the best of public service — grounded in analysis, informed by experience, and guided by purpose.”
