Trump picks Stephen Miran to fill open spot on Fed Board

WASHINGTON - U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday said he will nominate Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Stephen Miran to serve out the final few months of a newly vacant seat at the Federal Reserve while the White House seeks a permanent addition to the central bank's governing board and continues its search for a new Fed chair. Miran has called for a complete overhaul of the Fed's governance, would take over from Fed Governor Adriana Kugler following her surprise resignation last week, as she returns to her tenured professorship at Georgetown University.

The term expires January 31, 2026 and is subject to approval by the Senate. Trump said the White House continues to search for someone to serve in the 14-year Fed Board seat that opens February 1. Trump is also weighing options for a successor to Fed Chair Jerome Powell, whose term ends May 15, 2026. Trump has unsuccessfully pressured Fed policymakers - who include Powell, his six fellow Board members and the 12 Fed bank presidents - to lower interest rates. Appointing Miran to the central bank, even in a placeholder role, gives the president a potentially more direct route to pursue his desire for easier monetary policy and sway over the world's most influential central bank. "Near term, an interim Fed governor Miran gives Trump the best of both worlds: immediate policy influence without surrendering Fed Chair optionality and leverage," LHMeyer analyst Derek Tang wrote. "Disruption from within is a bonus."

Miran, in a paper he co-authored last year for the Manhattan Institute, laid out a case for increasing presidential control of the Fed Board, including by shortening their terms. He also wants to end the "revolving door" between the executive branch and the Fed, and nationalize the Fed's 12 regional banks. It is unclear how much time he would have at the Fed to try to deploy such far-reaching reforms, most of which would require Congressional action, or even to vote on interest rates.

All Fed nominees require Senate confirmation, a process that includes a hearing before the Senate Banking Committee, a vote from that panel advancing the nomination and a series of floor votes before the full Senate, where Democrats have been slowing the pace of approval for Trump appointments.