Trump nominates Steven Miran as new Fed board member… Disagreement with Powell on inflation outlook

U.S. President Donald Trump has nominated Steven Miran, Chairman of the White House National Economic Council, to the position of new board member of the Federal Reserve (Fed). He will succeed former board member Adriana Kugler, who resigned on the 1st, and, after Senate confirmation, will serve as a Fed board member until the remainder of the term, ending January 31 next year. With Miran, who has been Trump's 'tariff policy strategist' and advocated for strengthened presidential control over the Fed, joining the board, expectations are rising that voices in favor of rate cuts within the Fed's board will grow louder.

On the 7th (local time), President Trump introduced on his own social media, Truth Social, "Miran has worked with me since the beginning of my second term, and his expertise in economics is unparalleled."

Miran served as Senior Advisor at the Department of the Treasury, assisting then-Secretary Steven Mnuchin during Trump’s first term. He is also known as a key architect of the current administration’s tariff policy. In the 'Miran Report' published shortly after last year’s presidential election, he proposed a plan to share costs with allies in order to resolve the structural strong dollar while maintaining the dollar’s status as the global key currency. He also suggested the idea of using tariffs as a tool to pressure allied nations.

Economists forecast that Miran, alongside board members Christopher Waller and Vice Chair Michelle Bowman—both considered pro-Trump figures—will strengthen support for the president’s push for rate cuts. This is because he holds views on inflation that contrast with that of Fed Chair Jerome Powell. In a paper published last year by the Manhattan Institute, Miran also argued that the president should strengthen control over the Fed Board, for example, by shortening board members’ terms.

In an interview on Bloomberg TV that day, Miran said, "Many Fed officials are suffering from 'Tariff Derangement Syndrome' because they believe tariffs will cause inflation." He added, "I do not anticipate significant inflation resulting from tariffs," and, "Even if inflation does occur, it would only be a temporary rise in the price level and not a sustained trend."

Marco Casiraghi, an economist at Evercore ISI, told the Financial Times (FT), "Given that Miran supports President Trump’s policies, after joining the Fed, he is highly likely to continue acting as a Trump loyalist and vote in favor of rate cuts."

Following Miran’s nomination to the Fed board, J.P. Morgan forecast that the Fed would cut rates by 0.25% point at the September Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC).

The timing of Miran’s Senate confirmation is currently unclear. The Senate is on summer recess through the 2nd of next month. If Miran begins his term in September, he is expected to participate in up to four FOMC base interest rate votes until his term ends (September, October, December this year, and January next year).

Han Kyung-jae, hankyung@hankyung.com