By Greg Robb and Robert Schroeder
Trump economic adviser Stephen Miran will serve in the post until Jan. 31
Council of Economic Advisers Chair Stephen Miran has been tapped by President Trump to serve on an interim basis as a Federal Reserve governor.
President Donald Trump on Thursday said he’s tapping key White House economic adviser Stephen Miran to serve as a Federal Reserve governor – albeit for only a short time.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said he’s chosen Miran, who heads the Council of Economic Advisers, to serve until Jan. 31 in the seat vacated by Adriana Kugler.
“In the meantime, we will continue to search for a permanent replacement,” Trump said.
Benson Durham, head of global policy at Piper Sandler, said White House officials didn’t seem ready to announce anyone to replace Jerome Powell as chair of the Fed. Powell’s term ends in May 2026, and that discussion can now continue in the months ahead.
Miran’s nomination must be confirmed by the Senate. Experts said it is unlikely the Senate will vote on his nomination until after the Fed’s next meeting on Sept. 16-17.
The Fed’s last two meetings of the year are in late October and mid-December.
Since becoming the head of Trump’s economic council, Miran has been a strong proponent of the president’s tariffs and has recently argued there is no evidence that they have caused any inflation.
Trump has heavily criticized Powell over monetary policy, consistently pressuring him to lower interest rates. Miran has joined in on that criticism.
Trump announced his decision shortly before U.S. stock markets closed Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA and S&P 500 SPX ended lower, while the Nasdaq Composite COMP scored a record close after a weak auction of 30-year Treasury bonds BX:TMUBMUSD30Y.
Miran is an academic who attended Harvard University. Several of his academic papers have been influential in the early days of Trump’s second term, and he’s previously argued that the U.S. trade deficit was too large.
One paper in particular that captured Wall Street’s attention was Miran’s work questioning whether a strong dollar was in the nation’s best interest. That line of thinking has been U.S. government policy since the 1990s and the Clinton administration.
For months, Wall Street has debated Miran’s view on a weaker dollar. There has been talk that the Trump administration would eventually gather global finance ministers to Mar-a-Lago to try to restructure the international financial system to better serve American interests.
The talk about a weaker dollar has had an impact. Adam Posen, president of the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said there has been a clear trend this year that the dollar “is being reduced in its centrality” in the global economy.
In periods of market turmoil this year, experts point out that the dollar has weakened at the same time that long-term bond yields have risen. This is the trading pattern often seen in emerging markets. In the past, the dollar has always risen during financial crises as a safe haven.
The ICE U.S. Dollar Index DXY, a closely watched gauge of the U.S. dollar’s value against its main rivals, retreated Thursday afternoon after reports of Miran’s impending nomination hit the newswires.
As of Thursday afternoon, the dollar index was down 9.6% since the start of 2025, FactSet data show. At the end of June, the dollar index cemented its weakest showing during the first six months of a year since at least 1973.
Mark Spindel, who has written a book on Fed independence, said Miran is academically qualified to serve on the Fed and should be able to be confirmed by the Senate. Miran’s nomination will first go to the Senate Banking Committee, which confirmed him to his current post in March by a 13-11 party-line vote.
But Miran is not likely to have much influence at the Fed in the few months he holds the seat, Spindel noted. “He’s just a seat warmer for a couple of meetings,” he said.
Senate Banking Committee Chair Sen. Tim Scott said he’d consider the nomination quickly. “Miran is an accomplished economist and has been instrumental in advising on economic policy and advancing a pro-growth agenda,” the South Carolina Republican said in a statement.
Miran has also often been overshadowed in the past few month by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who has become Trump’s market whisperer.
Earlier this year, Miran’s efforts to explain the president’s tariff plans to the public “fell flat,” Spindel said.
Miran may use his time on the Fed to audition for a permanent seat, but the president doesn’t need to make that decision until next year.
-Greg Robb -Robert Schroeder
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08-07-25 1727ET
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