The White House is working over the August recess to build momentum for a key Federal Reserve nominee the administration wants in place next month.
Stephen Miran, whom President Donald Trump tapped to temporarily serve on the Federal Reserve’s board, has been meeting with members of the Senate Banking Committee, which will need to green-light his nomination before the full Senate can vote on confirmation.
Miran met Tuesday with Sen. Jim Banks (R-Ind.), a member of the panel, and had a call last week with Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott (R-S.C.). Miran is scheduled to have additional meetings with senators in the coming days, with invitations for one-on-ones extended to Republican members of the Banking panel.
“The White House has been aggressively pushing Dr. Miran’s nomination to the Federal Reserve Board, setting the stage for his quick confirmation when the Senate returns in September,” said a White House official Tuesday. “With the President’s strong backing, there’s clear momentum to get this done.”
Underscoring how big of a priority it has become for the Trump administration to seat Miran quickly, Banks said in a statement he returned to Washington Tuesday to meet with him, instead of waiting until after the Senate’s current weekslong break.
“It’s so important that he is confirmed before the Federal Reserve’s September meeting,” said Banks.
Installing Miran by this time would represent a lightning-fast confirmation process for the Senate, which is in recess until Sept. 2.
Banks added that Miran has “done a great job as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers to advance President Trump’s pro-working class agenda and I look forward to voting for his confirmation ASAP.”
Miran, who currently serves as Trump’s chief economist, was tapped to temporarily fill the vacancy created on the bank’s rate-setting committee by the resignation of Gov. Adriana Kugler. If confirmed, he would hold the seat until Kugler’s term expires on Jan. 31, 2026.
He’ll be coming up for consideration at a time when multiple Senate Republicans have publicly tried to sway Trump against firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell, warning that any perception of meddling in the agency’s independence would have severe consequences for the market.
Trump, who has relentlessly criticized Powell and surveyed a group of Republicans last month on whether he should remove him, has nevertheless said repeatedly that he doesn’t intend to fire the Fed chief, whose leadership term ends in May.
Still, Miran’s confirmation would give Trump a close political ally at the central bank, which is designed to be insulated from short-term political pressure — and questions about Miran’s links to Trump are all but guaranteed to come up as the Senate debates the nomination.
Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the top Democrat on the Banking Committee, vowed to have “tough questions” for Miran “about whether he'd serve the American people as an independent voice at the Fed or merely serve Donald Trump.”
Yet as long as Republicans on the panel stick together, they would be able to advance Miran’s nomination over opposition from Democrats. Republicans can lose three of their own members on the floor and still let Vice President JD Vance break a tie.
Miran is likely preparing for the line of inquiry. Though he haspreviously called for overhauling the structure of the Federal Reserve, he told CNBC in an interview earlier this month that "I've always been clear that the independence of the Fed is of paramount importance.”
Victoria Guida contributed to this report.
Comments
Post a Comment