Trump nominating top economic aide Stephen Miran to Fed board

Washington — President Trump said Thursday he will nominate a top economic adviser to the Federal Reserve's board of governors for four months, temporarily filling a vacancy while continuing his search for a longer-term appointment.

Mr. Trump said he has named Stephen Miran, the chair of the White House's Council of Economic Advisers, to fill a seat vacated by governor Adriana Kugler, a Biden appointee who is stepping down Friday. Miran, if approved by the Senate, will serve until Jan. 31, 2026.

"Stephen has a Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard University, and served with distinction in my First Administration," Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social. "He has been with me from the beginning of my Second Term, and his expertise in the World of Economics is unparalleled — He will do an outstanding job."

The appointment is the president's first opportunity to exert more control over the Fed, one of the few remaining independent federal agencies. Mr. Trump has relentlessly criticized the current chair, Jerome Powell, for keeping short-term interest rates unchanged, calling him "a stubborn MORON" last week on social media.

Miran has been a major defender of Mr. Trump's income tax cuts and tariff hikes, arguing that the combination will generate enough economic growth to reduce budget deficits. He also has played down the risk of Mr. Trump's tariffs generating higher inflation, a major source of concern for Powell.

The choice of Miran may heighten concerns about political influence over the Fed, which has traditionally been insulated from day-to-day politics. Fed independence is generally seen as key to ensuring that it can take difficult steps to combat inflation, such as raising interest rates, that politicians might be unwilling to take.

Federal Reserve governors vote on all the central bank's interest-rate decisions, as well as its financial regulatory policies.

Miran's nomination, if approved, would add a near-certain vote in support of lower interest rates. Kugler had echoed Powell's view that the Fed should keep rates unchanged and further evaluate the impact of tariffs on the economy before making any moves.

At its most recent meeting last week Fed officials kept their key rate unchanged at 4.3%, where it has stood after three rate cuts late last year. But two Fed governors — Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman — dissented from that decision. Both were appointed by Mr. Trump in his first term.

Still, even with Miran on the board, 12 Fed officials vote on interest rate policy and many remain concerned that Mr. Trump's sweeping tariffs could push inflation higher in the coming months.

After the July jobs report was released last Friday, Miran criticized the Fed chair for not cutting benchmark interest rates, saying that Mr. Trump had been proven correct on inflation during his first term and would be again. The president has pressured Powell to cut short-term interest rates under the belief that his tariffs will not fuel higher inflationary pressures.

"What we're seeing now in real time is a repetition once again of this pattern where the president will end up having been proven right," Miran said on MSNBC. "And the Fed will, with a lag and probably quite too late, eventually catch up to the president's view."