The Fed Needs Economists Who Aren’t Politicians

Which Stephen Miran will show up to the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy meeting in mid-September1 as a freshly appointed governor of the world’s most important financial institution? The version who toiled away in relative obscurity after graduating from Harvard University in 2010 with a PhD in economics, writing papers about things like how supply-side reforms and deregulation can spur American industry? Or the version who has advocated for giving the executive branch — the very politicians who have steered the country toward a debt and deficit crisis — more control over the central bank and the cost of money?

On Thursday, President Donald Trump chose Miran, who is currently chairman of the White House’s Council of Economic Advisers, to serve as a Fed governor. Trump said Miran, who needs to be confirmed by the Senate, would only serve out the expiring term of Fed Governor Adriana Kugler, which ends in January. “In the meantime, we will continue to search for a permanent replacement,” Trump said. We can only hope.