WASHINGTON–President Trump will nominate Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman as vice chair for supervision according to, a White House official who spoke to several media outlets.

A “former community banker and frequent critic of over-zealous bank regulation,” according to Reuters, Bowman would replace Michael Barr, a Democratic Biden appointee who stepped down from the supervisory post  at the end of February to avert a potential legal dispute with the Trump administration, Reuters added. 

The report further noted Bowman was widely seen as a frontrunner to fill the role, in part due to the fact that the Fed’s board is currently full, meaning a replacement must be named from existing governors.

Prior Positions

A former Kansas banking regulator, Bowman has served on the Fed board since 2018 when she was nominated by Trump  to fill a post specifically reserved for an official with community banking experience. 

“She is expected to take a much lighter regulatory touch than Barr, whose rulemaking projects she has loudly criticized in multiple speeches over the past 18 months,” Reuters reported, adding that Bowman voted against Barr’s proposal to implement the so-called “Basel III Endgame” rule that would overhaul how big banks gauge their risks, requiring them to hold significantly more capital.