Senate approves White House economist to serve on Fed board

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER Associated Press WASHINGTON AP The Senate has approved one of President Donald Trump s top economic advisers for a seat on the Federal Reserve s governing board giving the White House greater influence over the central bank just two days before it is expected to vote in favor of reducing its key interest rate The vote to confirm Stephen Miran was largely along party lines - He was approved by the Senate Banking Committee last week with all Republicans voting in favor and all Democrats opposed Miran s nomination has sparked concerns about the Fed s longtime independence from day-to-day politics after he mentioned during a committee hearing earlier this month that he would keep his job as chair of the White House s Council of Economic Advisers though would take unpaid leave Senate Democrats have commented such an approach is incompatible with an independent Fed Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer noted ahead of the vote that Miran has no independence and would be nothing more than Donald Trump s mouthpiece at the Fed Related Articles Appeals court rejects Trump s bid to unseat Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook ahead of rate vote Vice President JD Vance takes the mic to host Charlie Kirk s radio show Trump wouldn t call Minnesota governor after Democrat was slain but now blames him for raised flags Trump administration joins Republicans campaign to police speech in reaction to Kirk s murder The Democratic Party is in fits over Mamdani s bid for NYC mayor Republicans are loving it Miran is completing an unexpired term that ends in January after Adriana Kugler unexpectedly stepped down from the board Aug He reported if he is appointed to a longer term he would resign from his White House job Previous presidents have appointed advisers to the Fed including former chair Ben Bernanke who served in president George W Bush s administration But Bernanke and others left their White House jobs when joining the board Miran noted during his Sept hearing that if verified I will act independently as the Federal Reserve reliably does based on my own personal analysis of economic records Last year Miran criticized what he called the revolving door of functionaries between the White House and the Fed in a paper he co-wrote with Daniel Katz for the conservative Manhattan Institute Katz is now chief of staff at the Treasury Department Miran s approval arrives as Trump s efforts to shape the Fed have been dealt a setback elsewhere He has sought to fire Fed governor Lisa Cook who was appointed by former President Joe Biden to a term that ends in Cook sued to block the firing and won a first round in federal court after a judge ruled the Trump administration did not have proper cause to remove her The administration appealed the ruling but an appeals court rejected that request late Monday Members of the Fed s board vote on all its interest rate decisions and also oversee the nation s financial system The jockeying around the Fed is occurring as the business sector is entering an uncertain and demanding period Inflation remains stubbornly above the central bank s target though it hasn t risen as much as a large number of economists feared when Trump first imposed sweeping tariffs on nearly all imports The Fed typically would raise borrowing costs or at least keep them elevated to combat worsening inflation At the same time hiring has weakened considerably and the unemployment rate rose last month to a still-low The central bank often takes the opposite approach when unemployment rises cutting rates to spur more borrowing spending and enhancement Economists forecast the Fed will reduce its key rate after its two-day meeting ends Wednesday to about from Trump has demanded much deeper cuts