WASHINGTON (TNND) — The White House is working to get President Donald Trump’s nominee to fill a spot on the Federal Reserve filled in time for its next interest rate decision at its mid-September meeting as the administration continues to pile pressure on the central bank to cut rates.
Trump nominated White House Council of Economic Advisers chairman Stephen Miran to temporarily serve on the Fed board until he can name a permanent replacement. Miran’s nomination will have to be cleared by the Senate Banking Committee before it can be put before the full Senate for a vote.
Miran has reportedly been meeting with committee members over the August recess to speed up the nomination process once the upper chamber returns on Sept. 2. Getting him confirmed in time for the Sept. 16-17 meeting would be a quick process by Senate standards.
The vacancy was created when Adriana Kugler unexpectedly resigned from her position. If confirmed, Miran would hold the seat until her term expires on Jan. 31, 2026, when Trump intends to choose a permanent replacement.
His nomination to the post comes as Trump has maintained immense pressure on the Fed and chair Jerome Powell to cut rates. The president has repeatedly criticized Powell, who was first nominated to be chair by Trump, for not cutting rates since he returned to office.
Trump renewed his complaints on Tuesday, claiming that the Fed’s wait-and-see stance on interest rates is hurting the housing industry through higher mortgage rates. The housing industry has been in a prolonged slump for the last two years due to high asking prices and mortgage rates around 7% making homeownership unaffordable for many, though mortgages are not directly tied to the Fed’s benchmark rate.
“Could somebody please inform Jerome ‘Too Late’ Powell that he is hurting the Housing Industry, very badly? People can’t get a Mortgage because of him. There is no Inflation, and every sign is pointing to a major Rate Cut,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Wall Street is already expecting the Fed to cut rates by a 0.25% at its September meeting after the most recent jobs report showed a weakening labor market with stalling job creation. Expectations were dialed back after one measure of inflation showed it rise at the fastest pace in three years, but broad consensus has remained on a cut.
Investors are hoping to glean more information on Friday when Powell delivers a major speech at an economic symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
Miran’s confirmation to the Fed board would give Trump another likely advocate for cutting rates along with governors Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman, who dissented at the decision to hold steady during the July meeting over concerns about a weakening labor market. But voting decisions are still made by the full committee, limiting the influence any one governor has over the process.
“I doubt in the short run it’s going to change the outcome. But in the long run, if the perception becomes the reality that the Fed is less independent, then that’s going to be disruptive for the capital markets,” said Mark Williams, a finance lecturer at Boston University’s Questrom School of Business and former bank examiner at the Fed.
Trump’s constant critiques of Powell and threats to fire him, which he has recently backed off from, have stirred concerns about the Fed losing its independence from politics prone to quickly shifting priorities that do not always align with the long-term health of the economy.
On Wednesday, Trump called on a Biden-appointed Fed governor to resign from her position after one of his administration officials accused her of mortgage fraud. Federal Housing Finance Agency Bill Pulte, who has been a harsh critic of the Fed, accused governor Lisa Cook of submitting fraudulent information on a pair of mortgage applications.
Pulte’s post claimed Cook sought mortgages on two properties in Michigan and Atlanta and described both of them as her primary residence. In response to Pulte, Trump said, “Cook must resign, now!!!”
Cook was nominated to the Fed board of governors by former President Joe Biden in 2022 and is serving a term that runs through 2038. She has voted with Powell and the majority decisions since joining the board. Ousting Cook would give Trump another seat on the board to fill that would likely go to someone in alignment with the president’s belief that rates should be cut drastically.
“The White House is using this as an opportunity to make the case that there needs to be change at the Fed,” Williams said.
Miran has previously called for overhauling the structure of the Fed by Congress giving the White House more control over firing Fed governors. He has also argued the Fed’s budget should be subject to congressional appropriations. Both of those positions have caused concerns about politicization of what was designed to be independent from the whims of politicians.
In more recent interviews, Miran has said the Fed should remain its independent stature.
“I’ve always been clear that the independence of the Fed is of paramount importance,” Miran told CNBC earlier this month.