Andreessen, Chetty, King named to lead Fed task forces
Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh on Thursday announced the leadership of five independent task forces that will help develop recommended changes to the central bank’s operations, tapping venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, Harvard economist Raj Chetty and former Bank of England Governor Mervyn King as co-leaders.
The task forces were announced by Warsh last month as part of his broader effort to reshape the Fed’s approach to interest-rate communication, its roughly $6.7 trillion balance sheet, and its analytical toolkit. The appointments released Thursday fill out the leadership of each group with a mix of academics, former policymakers and business leaders.
Warsh called for “regime change” at the Fed last year while he was under consideration by the Trump administration to replace former Chair Jerome Powell, according to the Associated Press. Since taking office, Warsh has sought to communicate less about the Fed’s thinking on interest rates and has said he wants to shrink the central bank’s holdings of government bonds.
One of the task forces will concentrate on how artificial intelligence and other new technologies are affecting productivity and jobs, Warsh has said. He has repeatedly stated that he expects AI to bring about fundamental changes to the U.S. economy.
“The U.S. economy has changed significantly over the last generation, and never more so than right now,” Warsh said in a written statement Thursday. “Each task force will carefully consider whether policymakers’ means and methods, analytical tools and policy approaches can be improved upon.”
Most of the leaders named are prominent figures in mainstream economics and business rather than longtime Fed critics, according to the Fed. The composition suggests Warsh is seeking to build consensus among his fellow officials rather than impose changes from the top, Fed-watchers said.
The Fed’s total assets stood at approximately $6.74 trillion as of July 9, according to the central bank’s weekly data.