Bloomberg News
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said he will nominate Stephen Miran, currently the chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, to the Federal Reserve Board.
He would replace Adriana Kugler, who unexpectedly announced her departure last week, with her final day at the central bank being Aug. 8. Kugler’s term at the Fed Board was due to expire on Jan. 31, 2026.
“In the meantime, we will continue to search for a permanent replacement,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.
Miran has previously criticized the Fed for its stimulus actions during the COVID-19 pandemic. He did, however, play a role in development and defending the Paycheck Protection Program during Trump’s first term.
He also wrote the “Mar-a-Lago Accord,” a blueprint for devaluing the dollar while maintaining its status as the world reserve currency. It outlines a plan to reduce the United States’ trade deficit and boost domestic manufacturing via a mix of tariffs, capital measures and trade agreements.
Miran has also been a senior strategist at Hudson Bay Capital Management and senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research.
He’s likely to face pushback from Senate Democrats in the confirmation process due to his role influencing the Trump administration’s tariff policy.
“Stephen Miran is a Trump loyalist and one of the chief architects of President Trump’s chaotic tariff policy that has hurt Americans’ wallets and our economy,” said Senate Banking Committee ranking member Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., in a statement. “I will have tough questions for him during his confirmation hearing about whether he’d serve the American people as an independent voice at the Fed or merely serve Donald Trump.”
Miran won’t get a confirmation hearing until Congress returns in September. At that point, despite pushback from Democrats, he’ll likely be confirmed with Republican support.
“Stephen Miran is an accomplished economist and has been instrumental in advising on economic policy and advancing a pro-growth agenda in his role as CEA chair,” said Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott, R-S.C. “I look forward to quickly considering his nomination in the Senate Banking Committee.”
The nomination comes amid a protracted standoff between Trump and Chairman Jerome Powell over the central bank’s interest rate path. Trump, who chose Powell to serve as Fed chairman during his first term, has expressed consistent frustration with the Fed’s unwillingness to lower interest rates, while Powell and other Fed governors say they are concerned that various fiscal and domestic policies could reignite inflation in the economy. Powell’s term expires in May, and Kugler’s departure gives Trump the chance to test the concept of a “shadow chair,” whereby the president names the Fed chair’s successor well in advance of the sitting chair’s departure.
Trump’s comment on Truth Social, however, suggests that Miran might only be a temporary player on the Fed board. Several names have been floated about who the president might tee up to replace Powell, including National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett and former Fed Gov. Kevin Warsh. Trump could also pick one of the two Fed board members he appointed in his first term as the next Fed chair: Gov. Christopher Waller and Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman.
