Trump Nominates Miran to Succeed Kugler as Fed Board Member
Term Until Next January... "Permanent Successor to Be Nominated Separately"
Following Waller and Bowman, Miran Joins... Calls for Rate Cuts Expected to Intensify
Bloomberg: "Waller Emerging as Leading Candidate for Next Fed Chair"
On August 7 (local time), U.S. President Donald Trump officially nominated Steve Miran, Chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers (CEA), as a member of the U.S. Federal Reserve Board (Fed). With this nomination, the number of dovish members (those favoring monetary easing) among the 12 voting members on Fed rate decisions has increased to at least three. This is expected to further strengthen calls for a rate cut within the central bank at the September meeting. Christopher Waller, a current Fed board member, is reportedly the leading candidate to become the next Fed Chair.
President Trump announced the nomination on his social media platform Truth Social, stating, "It is a great honor to nominate Dr. Steve Miran, the current CEA Chairman, to the recently vacated Fed Board seat." He added, "He is an individual with outstanding expertise in the field of global economics and will perform excellently in this role."
Miran was nominated to succeed former Fed board member Adriana Kugler, who recently resigned early from her position.
President Trump explained that Miran would serve as a board member for the remainder of Kugler's term, which lasts "until January 31, 2026," and that the search for a permanent successor for the position would continue. The previous day, he had also stated that he would fill Kugler's vacancy with a short-term appointment and would separately nominate a full-term board member for the 14-year term beginning in 2026.
In a report published in March last year, Miran criticized the Fed for falling into "groupthink," leading to repeated policy errors, and for expanding its influence into the political sphere beyond its mandate. In November of the same year, he released the "Miran Report," which proposed punitive tariffs and exchange rate adjustments to encourage a weaker dollar as ways to address the U.S. trade and fiscal deficits.
With this nomination, there are now at least three dovish members within the Fed. Board member Waller and Vice Chair Michelle Bowman are currently the most prominent doves; both voted against holding rates steady at the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting on July 30, instead advocating for a 0.25 percentage point rate cut. Although both were previously classified as hawks (favoring monetary tightening), they shifted to dovish positions following the launch of the Trump administration's second term. Waller has consistently been mentioned as a leading candidate for the next Fed Chair since President Trump's inauguration, while Bowman was recently appointed Vice Chair by President Trump.
Since taking office, President Trump has repeatedly called for interest rate cuts, leading to conflicts with current Fed Chair Jerome Powell. With this latest appointment, calls for rate cuts within the central bank are expected to intensify. The recent slowdown in employment indicators, which has increased the likelihood of a rate cut in September, also adds momentum to this trend.
Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Scott Besant said in an interview with MSNBC that the selection process for the next Fed Chair is underway, stating, "We are assisting the President with the selection process and have already begun interviews." Bloomberg News reported that Waller recently met with President Trump's aides and is emerging as the leading candidate for the next Chair. Other candidates reportedly competing for the position include former Fed board member Kevin Warsh and White House National Economic Council (NEC) Chairman Kevin Hassett.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
