Stephen Miran has been nominated to the Federal Reserve Board until January 31, 2026. Photo / Getty Images
US President Donald Trump has announced on social media that he will nominate his economic adviser Stephen Miran to the Federal Reserve Board, in his first bid this term to shape the institution that he has aggressively pushed to lower rates.
Miran is the chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors and Trump said he would serve just through to January 31, 2026, the end of the current vacancy.
“It is my Great Honour to announce that I have chosen Dr Stephen Miran, current Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors, to serve in the just vacated seat on the Federal Reserve Board until January 31, 2026. In the meantime, we will continue to search for a permanent replacement. Stephen has a PhD in Economics from Harvard University, and served with distinction in my First Administration. He has been with me from the beginning of my Second Term, and his expertise in the World of Economics is unparalleled - He will do an outstanding job. Congratulations Stephen!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Trump had told reporters this week he would “probably go with the temp”, indicating he favoured a short-term pick rather than naming an heir apparent for Fed Chairman Jerome H Powell, whom he has sharply criticised this year for resisting calls to cut rates.
If confirmed by the Senate, Miran would fill a vacancy created by the early departure of Fed governor Adriana Kugler. She had been expected to stay through January, but the Fed said last week she would leave about six months early. She gave no explanation for her early departure.
Trump’s effort to reshape the Fed comes as his administration has also moved against other career officials seen as insufficiently aligned with his agenda. Last Friday, he abruptly fired the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics after the agency released weak jobs data that Trump has characterised, without evidence, as rigged to make him look bad.
Miran has played a central role in shaping the White House’s economic and trade agenda. He has also been a critic of a strong dollar. In a 2024 paper, Miran argued that the dollar has been persistently overvalued, making it difficult for the US to trade on level terms with other countries.
As CEA chief, Miran dismissed concerns that Trump’s tariffs will stoke inflation. “There’s no reason in the data to worry about inflation,” Miran told The Washington Post in an interview this summer, noting the President began imposing new tariffs immediately after taking office.
More recently, he joined other administration officials in celebrating a string of trade deals and new tariffs as a sign that the uncertainty weighing on hiring and investment was beginning to lift.
“We’ve been hearing a lot about uncertainty over the last few months, but that’s all resolved now,” Miran told CNN last Friday. “So, it’s all going to get much, much better from here.”
Trump’s decision to pursue a temporary Fed appointment adds an unexpected wrinkle to the broader contest over who will succeed Powell. The choice is a complicated one: Trump may not have another seat to fill anytime soon.
While Powell’s leadership term ends in May, he can remain on the board through early 2028. No other governor’s term expires during Trump’s presidency, and the Fed chairperson must be selected from the board’s existing members. Though Fed chairpersons typically step down when their leadership terms end, Powell has not said whether he plans to leave.
Which means if Trump wants to nominate someone from outside the Federal Reserve to replace Powell, Miran would have to step down to create an opening, unless another board member leaves.
Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott praised Miran’s credentials and said he looked forward “to quickly considering his nomination”. Senator Elizabeth Warren criticised the pick, saying in a separate statement that 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”.
The White House is conducting a separate search for a permanent Fed chairperson. Contenders include National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, former Fed governor Kevin Warsh, and current Fed governor Christopher Waller. Bessent was also floated as a possible candidate, but Trump said this week the former hedge fund manager prefers to stay at Treasury and is no longer under consideration.
Waller, who dissented from the Fed’s decision last month to leave rates unchanged for its fifth straight meeting, interviewed with Bessent in recent weeks, according to people familiar with the matter.
Whoever Trump eventually selects to lead the Fed would face a delicate balancing act: preserving the central bank’s independence while managing pressure from a President publicly demanding lower rates. The next chair is likely to face intense scrutiny from markets and within the Fed, as officials and investors assess whether political loyalty might compromise the institution’s credibility in fighting inflation.
If markets conclude that the next chairperson will act as an extension of Trump’s agenda rather than as an independent steward of monetary policy, investors could demand higher yields on US government debt to guard against inflation risk. That, in turn, could raise longer-term borrowing costs across the economy – even if the Fed complies with White House pressure to cut short-term rates.