Fed to cut rate-setting meetings, focus on long-term outlook

The Federal Reserve will begin scaling back the number of meetings devoted to setting interest rates, the board’s chair, Kevin Warsh, said on Wednesday. Starting in the fall, one of the eight annual meetings will be repurposed for broader economic questions, with a second such meeting added by 2028. The shift follows the latest policy announcement, which left rates unchanged.

Warsh explained that the change is intended to free up time for “strategic deliberations” and longer-term thinking, noting that while near-term assessments remain essential, the committee also needs space to consider “big questions” over extended horizons.

The move alters a schedule that has been in place since 1981, when the Federal Open Market Committee began holding eight regular meetings each year. Minutes from a July meeting show Warsh had previously argued that a longer interval between rate-setting sessions would allow the committee to gather more data.

If implemented, the Fed would become the only major central bank, such as the Bank of England or the Bank of Japan, to adopt this reduced meeting cadence. Warsh, who assumed the chairmanship in May after being nominated by President Donald Trump, has also shortened post-meeting policy statements and stopped issuing forward guidance on inflation and unemployment forecasts.