Miran would replace former Fed Governor Adriana Kugler, who resigned in early August before her term expired.
Donald Trump’s nominee, Stephen Miran, was confirmed by the Senate as a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors late Monday, while the President’s attempts to oust Lisa Cook from the board faced another setback.
The appointment of Miran, who served as the chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, was confirmed by a 48-47 margin, with Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) being the only GOP member to vote against him.
Miran would replace former Fed Governor Adriana Kugler, who resigned in early August before her term expired. His appointment assumes importance because a Fed governor, once confirmed, can immediately be part of the 12-member Federal Reserve Open Committee (FOMC) — the rate-setting committee. The FOMC comprises the seven board members, the New York Fed President and four members from the rest of the 11 regional Federal Reserve Banks, each of whom serves a one-year term on a rotating basis.
The path is now cleared for Miran to participate in the upcoming Sept. 16-17 meeting in which the central bank is widely expected to resume its rate cuts. The stock market trades at record highs in anticipation of the central bank’s first cut this year.
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that tracks the S&P 500 Index, and the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) jumped 13.44% and 16.04%, respectively, for the year.
Sentiment toward the SPY and QQQ ETFs was ‘bullish’ by late Monday, while the message volume stayed at ‘normal’ levels.
Even as Trump-backed Miran joins the board, the president’s repeated efforts to remove Cook, the first Black American governor, did not bear fruit. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled against firing Cook by a 2-1 margin on Monday, with the decision split along party lines.
Cook has been under fire for alleged mortgage fraud for wrongfully naming two of her properties as her primary residence to seek favorable terms.
In a concurring opinion, Judges Bradley Garcia and Michelle Childs, both Biden appointees, viewed that Cook will likely succeed in the case. “In this court, the government does not dispute that it failed to provide Cook even minimal process — that is, notice of the allegation against her and a meaningful opportunity to respond — before she was purportedly removed,” Garcia wrote.
Judge Gregory Kastas, however, dissented on the grounds that Trump fired Cook for cause.
Trump has been pushing for steep rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, citing the housing market weakness and thawing inflationary pressure. “‘Too Late’ MUST CUT INTEREST RATES, NOW, AND BIGGER THAN HE HAD IN MIND. HOUSING WILL SOAR!!! President DJT,” he wrote in a Truth Social post on Monday.
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