Senate Confirms Miran, Trump’s Pick for Fed Board 

The Senate confirmed Stephen Miran, President Donald Trump’s choice to fill a vacancy as governor on the Federal Reserve Board, by an 48-47 vote Monday night, in a display of approval for his fiscal agenda.

A Fed governor is one of six board members who play a major role in implementing monetary policy in the United States. Trump has repeatedly criticized the Federal Reserve for not cutting interest rates, which he contends is hampering economic growth.

Miran’s nomination is being considered for a vacancy left by Adriana Kugler, who resigned from the board in August.

Kugler’s resignation coincides with an effort to oust another Fed governor, Lisa Cook, and presents an opportunity for the White House to advance its economic goals.

In August, Trump announced that he had fired Cook, citing allegations from Bill Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, that she had improperly listed two primary residences, which would be mortgage fraud.

“You are hereby removed from your position on the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, effective immediately,” the president wrote in a letter to Cook. “At a minimum, the conduct at issue exhibits the sort of gross negligence in financial transactions that calls into question your competence and trustworthiness as a financial regulator.”

Cook, however, begged to differ, claiming the president had no authority to fire her. The question is currently being litigated in an appeals court. Cook has also denied the mortgage fraud allegations.

On Monday, the Senate moved to a final vote on Miran, the chairman of the White House’s Council of Economic Advisors. 

Miran previously served in the Department of the Treasury during Trump’s first term, and Miran’s 2024 report, “A User’s Guide to Restructuring the Global Trading System,” has served as a blueprint for the current administration’s trade and tariff policies. 

Miran’s nomination was advanced by the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee on a party-line vote of 13-11.

His nomination was vigorously opposed by Democrats, such as Sen. Andy Kim of New Jersey, who has said Miran is “unqualified” and has criticized him for intending to not fully resign from his White House position. 

Miran said during the confirmation process he wishes to take an “unpaid leave of absence” from his post on the Council of Economic Advisors in order to pursue the Federal Reserve position.

The vote came at a high-stakes moment for the Federal Reserve. The Board of Governors is set to meet Tuesday and Wednesday, when it will likely make a decision on whether or not to cut interest rates.

Trump once again called for Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to cut rates Monday morning, writing on the social media platform Truth Social that he “MUST CUT INTEREST RATES, NOW, AND BIGGER THAN HE HAD IN MIND. HOUSING WILL SOAR!!!”