Where’s Jerome Powell’s Signature?

Why isn't Jerome Powell's signature on Federal Reserve Notes? The signatures of the US Treasurer and the US Secretary of the Treasury appear, but not the Chair of the Federal Reserve System. What's going on?

Recently, I discussed this at length with New York Times reporter Alan Rappeport for an article about the lack of Yellen notes in circulation. Here’s a brief overview that didn’t make the article.

The 1913 act creating the Fed and its banknotes gave note design control to the Secretary of the Treasury. And, he or she decided whose signatures would appear.

The US Treasurer is there because, initially, the Treasurer's Office was in control of note issuance logistics and the gold supply backing the original Federal Reserve Notes. The reason that the Secretary of the Treasury’s signature is there is more complicated.

Federal Reserve Notes, while liabilities of the Federal Reserve System, are ultimately obligations of the US Government. So, the Secretary of the Treasury is responsible for them.

In 1913, when the Fed was created, there was also a political reason for excluding the Chair of the Federal Reserve. At the time, many Americans did not trust banks (who wanted to run the Fed themselves). So, using the Secretary of the Treasury's signature rather than the Fed Chair's signature indicated that the Government was watching over this new banking system.

However, there is nothing in the law preventing a future note design that includes the signature of the Federal Reserve Chair. So, could we see a new signature in the future?