The Board’s composition changed significantly during 2021, switching from a Republican to a Democrat-appointed majority.

The five seats on the Board are traditionally filled by two Democrats, two Republicans, and a chairman of the current president’s party. At the end of 2020, the Trump White House packaged the renomination of member Marvin Kaplan with the return of member Lauren McFerran to join Chairman John Ring and member William Emanuel as the four members of the Board. In 2021, President Biden named member McFerran the new chairman of the Board, selected Jennifer Abruzzo to serve as the Board’s General Counsel (GC), and filled two empty seats on the Board with Democrats following the expiration of member Emanuel’s term...