New Fed Chair Has Chance to Right-Size ‘Disaster’ of Bloated Staff
The new chair of the Federal Reserve, Kevin Warsh, has the opportunity to reduce the size of the Fed's bloated workforce, which currently stands at nearly 25,000 employees. Comparatively, central banks in other countries operate with significantly fewer staff, raising questions about the efficiency of the U.S. system. The previous chair, Jerome Powell, had initiated a reduction plan, but it faced political pushback, particularly from Democrats concerned about the implications for regulatory oversight.
- ▪The Federal Reserve has nearly 25,000 employees, far exceeding other central banks like the Bank of Japan and the European Central Bank.
- ▪President Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent have criticized the Fed's staffing levels, calling it a management disaster.
- ▪Political donations from Fed employees heavily favor Democrats, raising concerns about the impact of potential job cuts on their voter base.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
Policy New Fed Chair Has Chance to Right-Size ‘Disaster’ of Bloated Staff Central banks in other countries manage with far fewer employees The nearly 25,000 employees of the Federal Reserve and its regional banks include officers serving in a special-purpose police force with its own fleet of vehicles like the one pictured here. (Free Beacon staff photo.) Ira Stoll May 20, 2026 image/svg+xml .st0{fill:none;stroke:#384f61;stroke-width:2;stroke-linecap:round;stroke-linejoin:round;stroke-miterlimit:10;} .st1{fill:none;stroke:#384f61;stroke-width:2;stroke-linejoin:round;stroke-miterlimit:10;} A new chairman of the Federal Reserve is an opportunity to scale back the system’s staff, whose numbers have swollen in recent years and now far exceed that of similar institutions in other countries.
…
Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Washington Free Beacon.
Discussion
0 commentsMore from Washington Free Beacon
