WASHINGTON – As expected, the Senate Banking Committee voted to confirm Stephen Miran, President Trump’s nominee to the Federal Reserve Board, along a party-line vote, with all Democrats voting no.
The vote out of committee sets up a vote in the full Senate, which is expected to take place on Sept. 15. If so, it would put Miran on the Fed Board just in time for the central bank’s policy meeting, which begins Sept. 16.
Many expect the Fed will enact a 25-basis-point rate cut. Miran, along with the president, has in the past called for rates to be reduced.
If approved, Miran will replace former Fed governor Adriana Kugler, who left the Fed in August, and his term will be short. He would only serve until Jan. 31, 2026, finishing the remainder of Kugler’s term.
‘Independence’ Challenged
Miran, who is currently chair of the Council of Economic Advisers and a veteran of both Trump administrations, was nominated Aug. 7. He testified before the Senate Banking Committee, where Democrats pressed him on how he could be “independent” from the administration since he plans to remain CEA chair and take an unpaid leave rather than resign from the post.
“Miran’s nomination is just the next phase of President Trump’s very public months-long campaign to stack the Fed with loyalists,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said. “When Trump seizes control, Fed decisions won’t be driven by data, but by Donald Trump’s personal feelings. And when the Fed loses credibility, businesses and consumers stop trusting it to control inflation and prices go up.”
Miran told the committee he will be independent.
