Documents show someone else turned down the post
Patrick Harker wasn't initially considered as a candidate for the Philadelphia Fed, he was on the committee searching for someone to replace Charles Plosser.
Eventually, they settled on a candidate and he or she was approved in a unanimous vote by the Fed's Board of Governors. Then for some reason the candidate walked away and remains unidentified.
Soon after, Harker was nominated by the same search team he was on and was quickly put in place.
The Bloomberg scoop on the story said that "well over 100 resumes" were presented and more than a dozen people interviewed.
That they settled on the insider speaks to the insular, closed-minded nature of the Fed. It's also notable that Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester was an insider at the Philly Fed before her appointment.
