Stephen Miran, President Trump’s pick to fill an open spot on the Federal Reserve’s board of governors, told lawmakers at his confirmation hearing Thursday that he plans to return to his current White House job when his term at the Fed comes to an end early next year.
If confirmed, Miran, who currently heads Trump’s Council of Economic Advisers, would fill in for former governor Adriana Kugler until the end of January. Kugler stepped down suddenly from the Fed board in August, just five months before the end of her term. Miran said he would take unpaid leave from the White House while taking her place.
No administration official has served on the Fed board since reforms instituted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1935.
Miran attempted to reassure lawmakers that, despite maintaining a clear link to the White House, he would act independently at the Fed. “My opinions and decisions will be based on my analysis of the macroeconomy and what’s best for its long-term stewardship,” he said.
Democratic Sen. Andy Kim questioned Miran’s vow of independence. “You could very well be continuing to act in a way that is in the political interests of the president, because you know he is going to be your future boss again at the White House,” Kim said. “Why do you even want this job at the Fed for four months, if you’re just hedging your bets and just continuing to hold your position at the White House?”
Sen. Elizabeth Warren was more sharply critical. “No one — not the American public, not investors here at home, not the worldwide financial markets — will trust him as an independent voice,” the Massachusetts Democrat said. “Every claim he makes and every vote he takes will be tainted with the suspicion that he isn’t an honest broker, but that he is Donald Trump’s puppet.”
The Trump administration hopes to push Miran through the confirmation process before the next Fed meeting on September 16 and 17. Trump has been outspoken in his calls for lower interest rates, and Miran could play a key role in voting to reduce the Fed benchmark rate at the three remaining central bank meetings this year.