Stephen Miran, President Donald Trump’s nominee for the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, could be confirmed in time to take part in the mid-September rate-setting meeting.
Fed watchers broadly expect the central bank to cut rates in September after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell signaled a softer stance on policy during his Jackson Hole address.
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), which will meet on Sept. 16, is the panel that sets U.S. monetary policy, including decisions on interest rates.
The FOMC has 12 voting members: the seven governors of the Federal Reserve Board, the president of the New York Fed, and four regional Fed presidents who rotate annually. Other regional presidents join the discussions but do not vote.
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Members of the Fed board are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate.
Miran, chair of the Council of Economic Advisers and a veteran of both Trump administrations, was nominated on Aug. 7 and testified before the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday.
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While a final vote has not yet been scheduled, Republican lawmakers have signaled they intend to move quickly so he can be seated in time for the September meeting.
Miran’s nomination came on the heels of Federal Reserve Governor Adriana Kugler’s resignation in August. Trump called her early exit “a pleasant surprise,” noting that it gave him the opportunity to appoint a candidate more closely aligned with his economic agenda.
These developments come amid a growing standoff between Trump and Powell over the central bank’s reluctance to lower interest rates.
Trump, who named Powell as Fed chair in 2017, has stepped up his pressure campaign in recent weeks, urging the central bank to lower interest rates to 1% to stimulate economic growth.
Powell’s wait-and-see economic policy has kept the central bank’s key borrowing rate within a range of 4.25% to 4.5%. Powell has said that he’s also held off cutting rates, in part, to assess the economic impact of Trump’s ongoing trade deals.
Meanwhile, if Trump succeeds in removing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, he would secure a majority of appointments on the Fed’s board, bolstering his influence over the body that steers U.S. monetary policy.
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On Thursday, the Justice Department confirmed to Fox News that it had launched a criminal investigation into Cook over allegations of mortgage application fraud. Cook has also filed a lawsuit in federal court against Trump and the Fed board over her firing.
Former President Joe Biden appointed Philip Jefferson, Michael Barr and Cook to the Fed board in 2022. Trump’s picks include Michelle Bowman in 2018, Christopher Waller in 2020 and Stephen Miran in 2025.
Former President Barack Obama nominated Powell to the Fed board in 2012, Trump nominated Powell to his current role as chairman of the Federal Reserve in 2017, and Biden reappointed him in 2022.
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