Trump’s Fed Pick Wants to Hang on to White House Post

Stephen Miran, President Donald Trump’s pick to fill a vacant seat on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, said he was committed to central bank independence during a contentious confirmation hearing Thursday in Washington. But Miran, seen by Democrats as a Trump loyalist who will do the Republican president’s bidding regardless of economic imperatives, chose a unique way to illustrate that pledge.

Miran told senators that he intends to hang on to his White House job while serving at the Fed, rather than resign it altogether, taking an unpaid leave of absence from the White House Council of Economic Advisers. “Your independence has already been seriously compromised by your statement—you are going to be technically an employee of the president of the United States but an independent member of the board of the Federal Reserve?” Democratic Senator Jack Reed said. “That’s ridiculous.”