Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh told reporters on October 28 that the Federal Open Market Committee will hold only seven interest rate votes in 2027 and six in 2028, down from the eight it has scheduled every year for decades. He spoke at the press conference following the October 27 to 28 meeting, where the Committee voted 10 to 2 to hold the federal funds target range at 3.75 percent to 4.00 percent. The calendar keeps all eight slots. One 2027 meeting and two 2028 meetings become strategy sessions instead, with no rate decision and no policy statement. For borrowers, the practical effect is simple arithmetic: fewer scheduled decision points means longer stretches when the prime rate cannot move on a calendared vote. Prime has sat at 7.00 percent since the September hike, and the Fed’s meeting schedule is the best predictor of when it changes next. Warsh has not said which meeting loses its vote.
- Warsh said 2027 gets seven rate votes and 2028 gets six, down from eight per year.
- All eight meetings stay; the extra ones become strategy sessions with no vote.
- The Fed has not named which 2027 meeting loses its rate decision.
- Nothing changes in 2026. December 8 to 9 is still a full policy meeting.
- Prime holds at 7.00 percent, three points above the target ceiling.
What Warsh Announced and What It Replaces
The Federal Reserve’s published meeting calendar states that the FOMC holds eight regularly scheduled meetings each year, with minutes released three weeks after each policy decision. That structure governs the 2026 schedule: January 27 to 28, March 17 to 18, April 28 to 29, June 16 to 17, July 28 to 29, September 15 to 16, October 27 to 28, and December 8 to 9. Four carry a Summary of Economic Projections. Warsh is not cutting meetings. He is removing the rate decision from some of them.
Speaking at the October 28 press conference, Warsh said: “We believe eight meetings per year is the right number for the (Federal Open Market Committee), but in 2027, one meeting will focus exclusively on broad monetary policy strategy, with neither a vote on the federal funds rate nor a policy statement anticipated.” He added that the remainder stay as normal policy meetings, and that he expects 2028 to carry two strategy meetings and six for setting policy. His stated reason was that the Committee needs protected time for longer-horizon questions. Getting policy right requires assessing near term developments at regular intervals, he said, but it is equally important to reserve time and space as an intellectually diverse group for strategic deliberations. He also repeated a familiar position, telling reporters he does not believe in forward guidance.
Which 2027 Meeting Loses Its Vote Is Still Unknown
Warsh gave no indication of which meeting on the 2027 calendar will be converted, and the Federal Reserve has not yet posted a 2027 meeting calendar on its website. Reuters reported that he offered no guidance about which meetings would be taken off the table for policy action, and that it remains unclear how the strategy sessions will interact with the Fed’s other review processes. Warsh told reporters it is not obvious what the Committee will disclose after a strategy meeting, and said the Fed would share details as they are settled.
Private forecasters have started guessing. Omair Sharif of Inflation Insights told Reuters he expects the October 2027 meeting to be the first without rate deliberations, reasoning from the 2027 data release schedule that the resulting gap would run about 12 weeks and span two sets of inflation reports. That is a private estimate rather than a Fed statement, and no official confirmation exists. One structural detail carries over regardless: the Committee retains the authority to change policy between scheduled meetings, a power it last used in early 2020. A strategy meeting with no vote does not lock the Fed out of acting. For now, the only confirmed rate decisions sit on the current published calendar, and the 2026 rate forecast still runs through a December meeting unaffected by any of this.
Longer Gaps Raise the Stakes on Every Remaining Vote
Eight meetings spread across a year average roughly six and a half weeks apart. Removing one decision stretches a single interval to something closer to three months, which concentrates more economic data into one vote. A Committee meeting after a long gap carries two or three extra inflation prints and payroll reports into one decision, raising the odds of a larger increment when it moves. Markets priced that logic quickly. The Treasury par yield curve on November 2 showed the two year note at 4.59 percent against a 10 year at 4.91 percent, a spread of 32 basis points, down from 38 basis points on October 30.
The backdrop makes the change more consequential than it would have been two years ago. The Fed raised rates in September for the first time since 2023, lifting prime to 7.00 percent, and the October meeting drew dissents in the hawkish direction. Governor Lisa D. Cook and Cleveland Fed President Beth M. Hammack both voted against the hold, each preferring to raise the target range by a quarter point at that meeting. A Committee with live internal disagreement about the next move is one for which the number of scheduled votes genuinely matters. Fewer decision points also mean fewer press conferences explaining the reasoning, which cuts against the transparency the Fed built by holding a conference after every meeting.
What Fewer Rate Votes Mean for Your Money
Nothing in this announcement moves a consumer rate in 2026. The Fed’s H.15 release dated November 2 shows the bank prime loan rate at 7.00 percent and the effective federal funds rate at 3.88 percent, with the discount window primary credit rate at 4.00 percent. Prime tracks the top of the target range plus three percentage points by banking convention, which is the mechanism explained on our page covering how Fed decisions reach loan rates. Variable products indexed to prime, including most credit cards and home equity lines, stay exactly where they are until a scheduled vote changes the target range. Commercial bank credit card rates averaged 21.19 percent in August, according to Federal Reserve data.
Fixed and market priced products follow the Treasury curve rather than the prime rate, so they respond to expectations rather than to votes. Freddie Mac put the 30 year fixed mortgage at 7.24 percent for the week ending October 29, which is why mortgage rates move on data days rather than on Fed days. Deposit pricing runs the other way. The FDIC’s national rates as of October 19 were 0.38 percent for savings and 1.76 percent for a 12 month certificate, so the gap between that average and the best high yield savings accounts or CD rates is worth more than any single policy decision. Borrowers comparing personal loan rates today face the same point: the spread between lenders exceeds a typical quarter point move.
Stop timing variable rate debt to Fed meetings. With one 2027 decision removed and no date announced, the gap between votes gets less predictable, not more. If you carry a balance on a card indexed to prime at 7.00 percent, the reliable move is a fixed rate consolidation quote you can compare against your APR today. On the savings side, the spread between the FDIC national average of 0.38 percent and a competitive account is worth several times a quarter point move, and you can capture it this week.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many times will the Fed vote on interest rates in 2027?
Seven. Fed Chair Kevin Warsh said on October 28, 2026 that the FOMC will hold eight meetings in 2027 but only seven will include a federal funds rate vote. One meeting becomes a strategy session with no vote and no policy statement. He expects six rate votes in 2028.
Does this change the prime rate right now?
No. The prime rate is 7.00 percent and the October 28 decision left the federal funds target range at 3.75 percent to 4.00 percent, so nothing about the schedule change affects today’s rate. The calendar revision applies to 2027 and 2028 only. Every meeting on the 2026 calendar, including the December session, remains a full policy meeting with a scheduled vote. Prime moves when the FOMC changes the target range, not when it changes how often it votes. The level has held since the September 2026 hike.
When is the next Fed meeting that can move my rate?
December 8 to 9, 2026. It is the final meeting on this year’s published calendar and carries a Summary of Economic Projections, which means the Committee will publish updated forecasts for growth, unemployment, inflation, and the policy rate alongside the decision. That meeting is unaffected by the schedule change Warsh announced, because the reduction starts in 2027. If the Committee raises or lowers the target range at that meeting, banks typically reset prime within one business day, and card issuers apply the new index over the following one to two statement cycles.
Can the Fed still change rates between scheduled meetings?
Yes. The FOMC retains the authority to change monetary policy outside its regularly scheduled meetings, and it last exercised that power in early 2020. Removing a rate vote from the 2027 calendar does not remove that option. In practice the Committee reserves intermeeting action for conditions it considers urgent, so it is not a tool that households should plan around. The realistic reading is that scheduled votes become slightly scarcer while the emergency channel stays open and continues to be used rarely.
What does a longer gap between votes mean for my credit card APR?
It means your variable APR holds steady for longer, then potentially moves by more. Card rates indexed to prime only reset when the FOMC changes the target range, so a three month gap between decisions freezes your margin over that stretch. The risk sits on the other side: a Committee weighing a full quarter of data may act in a larger increment. Commercial bank card rates averaged 21.19 percent in August 2026, so a quarter point either way is a small share of what you pay on a balance.
Should I wait for a rate change before locking a mortgage or a CD?
Waiting makes less sense under this calendar, not more. Mortgage pricing follows the Treasury curve and reacts to inflation and jobs data continuously, so it does not wait for a vote; Freddie Mac had the 30 year fixed at 7.24 percent for the week ending October 29. Certificate yields reflect the same forward expectations. With one 2027 decision removed and no date announced, the window you would wait through is longer and less defined. Comparing lenders and banks against each other captures more than a quarter point typically delivers.
Watching the Calendar Into December and 2027
Two things settle this story. The Federal Reserve will eventually post a 2027 meeting calendar identifying which session carries no vote, and the December 8 to 9 decision will show whether the hawkish dissents from October have grown into a majority. Until then, the dates and the current levels are what matter. Track them on our current prime rate page, the Fed meeting schedule, and the Treasury yield curve.
References
- Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. “Federal Reserve issues FOMC statement.” October 28, 2026. federalreserve.gov
- Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. “Implementation Note issued October 28, 2026.” federalreserve.gov
- Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. “Selected Interest Rates (Daily) H.15.” Release date November 2, 2026. federalreserve.gov
- Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. “FOMC Meeting Calendars, Statements, and Minutes.” federalreserve.gov
- U.S. Department of the Treasury. “Daily Treasury Par Yield Curve Rates.” November 2, 2026. home.treasury.gov
- U.S. Department of the Treasury, Fiscal Data. “Debt to the Penny.” Record date October 30, 2026. fiscaldata.treasury.gov
- Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. “National Rates and Rate Caps.” As of October 19, 2026. fdic.gov
- Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, FRED. “Commercial Bank Interest Rate on Credit Card Plans, All Accounts” and “30-Year Fixed Rate Mortgage Average in the United States.” fred.stlouisfed.org
Keep Reading
- Current U.S. Prime Rate Today
- Federal Reserve Meeting Schedule
- How the Fed Funds Rate Sets the Prime Rate
- Fed Rate Forecast 2026
- How Fed Decisions Reach Your Loan Rates
- U.S. Interest Rates Explained
- Treasury Yield Curve Today
- Consumer Credit Rates Tracker
- Inside an FOMC Meeting: How the Fed Sets Rates
