On December 31, 2021, FDIC Chair Jelena McWilliams sent a letter to President Joseph R. Biden communicating her intent to resign as Chair of the FDIC effective February 4, 2022.
Chair McWilliams, an appointee of former President Donald J. Trump, has been Chair of the FDIC since June 2018. Ms. McWilliams is currently the sole Republican on the FDIC Board. In the last month, being the Chair but also in the minority of the Board had brought up confrontations with the three Democrats on the Board. These confrontations centered on where control of the FDIC's agenda really sat.
Commentary
The resignation of Chair McWilliams comes as a bit of a surprise. Chair McWilliams had previously stated her desire to serve until the expiration of her term in 2023, but the recent clash between the Chair and the three other members of the FDIC Board may have hastened her resignation. As currently constituted, it would appear that Marty Gruenberg would become the Acting Chair of the FDIC Board, pending a nomination from President Biden. As the Federal Deposit Insurance Act limits the makeup of the FDIC Board to three members of one party, if President Biden wished to nominate someone else other than Mr. Gruenberg as Chair, then Mr. Gruenberg would have to leave the Board. After Ms. McWilliams's departure, the two vacant seats on the FDIC Board would need to be filled by Republicans or Independents.
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