Who is Fed nominee Stephen Miran? : NPR

Stephen Miran, illustrated outside the White House in June, has been the president of the Blank House economic advisers since March.

Aaron Schwartz / Sipa / Bloomberg via Getty Images

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Aaron Schwartz / Sipa / Bloomberg via Getty Images

The Senate voted on Monday to confirm Stephen Miran to the Board of Directors of the Federal Reserve, to fill a vacancy post of several months on the organization of seven members who establishes the country’s monetary policy, and has been more and more attacked by President Trump.

Trump has long put pressure on the Fed to reduce interest rates and, in July, launched the idea of ​​dismissing the president of the federal reserve, Jerome Powell – which he attacked as “Knucklehead” and “Numbskull” – not to do it. In August, Trump intensified his fight against the Fed by trying to dismiss Governor Lisa Cook, a decision that a federal judge temporarily blocked last week.

It was in this backdrop that the governor fed Adriana Kugler resigned unexpectedly last month, opening a seat on the board of directors that Trump so publicly sought to influence. He quickly appointed Miran, one of his best economic advisers, to complete the rest of Kugler’s mandate, which takes place until January 2026.

Senators voted on Miran on Monday 48-47 in favor of Miran. During a hearing of the Senate banking committee at the beginning of the month, Miran said that he would not resign his post as chairman of the Blanche House’s economic advisers if he was confirmed to this role, but would take unpaid leave.

This, coupled with some of his previous writings, calling for less independence for the Fed, shook the Democrats in the room.

“Currently, the banking committee should investigate the president’s direct attacks on this independence, without claiming that it is as usual,” Senator Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass told NPR in September.

The Committee finally voted 13-11 according to the party parties to advance the appointment of Miran to the complete Senate. Miran should now join the Fed in time for its long -awaited two -day meeting on interest rates, which begins on Tuesday.

“This is preparing us for a very tight process before a very important meeting of the central bank,” co -president of the non -profit defense organization.

But criticism is more concerned than the moment. They say that his unprecedented plan to take an unpaid leave from the White House rather than resigning is alarming, warning that he could give the president an undue influence to the Fed, which is supposed to operate independently of the administration.

“This functionally means that he remains an employee of the White House at the same time as working for the independent federal reserve,” said Gilbert. “So we are really concerned about this and what it means for the independence of this agency.”

The spokesman for the White House, Kush Desai, told NPR in a statement that Miran would take unpaid leave from the Council of Economic Advisors, would have no access by email to the White House, loses his badge of the White House and “does not provide any advisory advice in any way”.

“Instead of using ignorant or intentionally deceptive attacks, democrats and” non -partisan “surveillance groups should simply admit that Dr. Stephen Miran is eminently qualified to sit at the Fed, and he will do so in accordance with the law,” wrote Desai.

Who is Stephen Miran?

Miran holds a doctorate. In economics from Harvard University. His thesis advisor was Martin Feldstein, an influential economist who was president of Ronald Reagan of the White House economic advisers.

Miran graduated in 2010 and began his career on the financial markets, working as an analyst for Lily Pond Capital Management, Fidelity Investments and Sovarnum Capital. In 2020, he joined the first Trump administration as a principal advisor to the Treasury Ministry.

He left this role after former president Joe Biden was inaugurated and returned to the private sector, finally joining the management of the capital of Hudson Bay and the Manhattan Institute of Manhattan.

There, he wrote dozens of OP-EDs criticizing Biden’s economic policy (including the law on inflation reduction) and, in particular, pleading for a less independent federal reserve. The Fed is designed to be independent of the executive branch, although it is responsible for the congress.

“The independence of the central bank is largely considered as an essential element of effective economic management”, writes Miran in March 2024. “However, pure independence is incompatible with a democratic system.”

Miran has proposed controversial reforms such as the shortening of the conditions of the members of the Fed board of directors and “clarifying that the members are used for the will of the American president”. In the current state of things, the Federal Reserve Act obliges the presidents to demonstrate the “cause” of the elimination of members before the end of their 14 -year mandate, which no president has successfully done.

Gilbert, of a citizen public, said that the Fed had intentionally “kept away from the whims of the White House” because it establishes a monetary policy according to the relative success of the economy – and not of politics.

“If you are president, you may have reasons to boast how the economy is done as part of a political gambit or something you want to share in an electoral context-not factors that should influence our markets,” she said.

What does Miran say about his role on the board of directors?

Trump announced his intention to appoint Miran as his council of economic advisers in December 2024, and the Senate confirmed it in March this year with an online party vote. Miran supported Trump’s trade policies and is widely credited as the architect behind the so-called “reciprocal prices” of the administration on American trade partners.

Trump appointed Miran for the Fed’s role in early August. During his hearing of the Senate banking committee earlier this month, Miran admitted that Trump had appointed him “because I have political opinions that I suppose he loved”.

But, he said, if he was confirmed, “I will act independently, as the federal reserve always does, according to my own personal analysis of economic data”.

Miran’s opinions on the independence of the Fed were questioned at the hearing, when he said that he would not resign his job at the White House if he was confirmed to the Fed.

“I received advice from a lawyer that what is necessary is an unpaid leave from the Council of Economic Advisors,” said Miran. “And therefore, considering the term for which I am nominated is a little more than four months, that’s what I will take.”

This aroused immediate concern of the legislators on both sides of the aisle. Senator Jack Reed, D.-Ri, said that “Miran’s independence had already been seriously compromised”, while Senator John Kennedy, R-La., Asked Miran to undertake to “ignore all the rhetoric of all politicians”, which he did.

In an exchange, Senator Andy Kim, DN.J. Asked why Miran wants the Fed’s work and why he did not postpone the advice of his lawyer to take a leave without pay.

“You have the right to say” no, I will resign. “You can determine your own career – you know, right?” Kim asked Miran, who responded. “You may very well continue to act in a way that is in the political interest of the president because you know that it will be your future boss again.”

Miran said that if he had been confirmed later in the longer term, he would resign his role from the White House. Trump said when he appointed Miran that he continues to seek a candidate to fill a new 14 -year term from the beginning of 2026.

Gilbert said Miran’s plans not to resign from the White House are worrying, regardless of the duration of his mandate from the Fed, saying that there is a “slippery slope with regard to the independence of the Fed”.

She says that the conflict of interest is particularly worrying because it occurs at the same time as Trump tries to remove Cook, another governor of the Fed. She called “the administration’s attempt to put a finger on the management of the Fed … obvious and really problematic”.

“The central bank is intended to keep us stable,” she told NPR. “It is important for ordinary Americans when we think of our economy, because we think of how we interact as a consumers. And it is simply a problem not to be independent.”