# Beth Hammack **Beth M. Hammack** has been President and CEO of the **Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland** since August 21, 2024, succeeding Loretta Mester. She came from [[Goldman Sachs]], where she spent about 31 years (1993–2024): partner from 2010, global treasurer, global head of repo trading, and finally co-head of the global financing group. She also chaired the Treasury Borrowing Advisory Committee, the dealer panel that advises Treasury on debt issuance. Her background is markets and funding rather than the academic-economist path typical of Reserve Bank presidents. She has been among the Committee's most consistent hawks from the start. At her first voting meeting, on **December 18, 2024**, she dissented against a rate cut, preferring to hold at 4.50–4.75%. Reserve Bank presidents are chosen by their district boards with the approval of the Board of Governors. They are not appointed by the President or confirmed by the Senate. That distance from the White House is part of why the three presidents below could break with a chair Trump appointed. ## The 2026 hawkish bloc Dallas, Cleveland and Minneapolis all hold rotating [[Federal Open Market Committee]] votes in 2026, and their three presidents have voted as a bloc: | Meeting | Decision | The three | |---|---|---| | Jan 28 | Hold at 3.50–3.75% (10–2; Miran and Waller wanted a cut) | with the majority | | Mar 18 | Hold (11–1) | with the majority | | **Apr 29** | Hold (8–4), [[Jerome Powell]]'s last meeting as chair | **dissented together** against the statement's easing bias | | Jun 17 | Hold (12–0), [[Kevin Warsh]]'s first meeting | with the majority | | **Jul 29** | Hold (9–3) | **dissented together**, preferring a quarter-point *increase* | | Sept 16 | **Raised to 3.75–4.00%** (12–0), the first hike since 2023 | with the majority | In September the Committee came around to their position. On December 12, 2025 the Board reappointed all three to five-year terms running to February 2031 (one source). See [[Interest Rate Policy Timeline]]. ## See Also - [[Federal Open Market Committee]] · [[Interest Rate Policy Timeline]] · [[Goldman Sachs]] - [[Lorie Logan]] · [[Neel Kashkari]] · [[Kevin Warsh]] · [[Federal Reserve]]