Federal Reserve governor Stephen Miran resigned from his position as chairman of the White House’s council of economic advisers, fulfilling a promise he made to the Senate as his work at the central bank became more permanent.
Miran has been on unpaid leave from his CEA position since Donald Trump appointed him last year to fill an unexpected vacancy on the Fed’s board of governors until a term that ended on 31 January. The arrangement drew the ire of Democratic senators, who said it would create a presidential puppet of the Fed’s newest policymaker.
Miran said he was legally advised not to resign from his post at the CEA because the job at the Fed was only for a few months.
“The Senate promised me that if I remain on the board in January, I will formally leave the council,” Miran said in his resignation letter dated Tuesday and reviewed by Reuters. “I believe it is important to remain true to my word as I continue to do the job at the Federal Reserve that you and the Senate have appointed me to do.”
Trump on Friday announced plans to nominate former Fed governor Kevin Warsh as the central bank’s next chair to replace Jerome Powell. While it will fill the Fed board seat currently occupied by Miran, the law allows him to serve until a successor is confirmed by the Senate.
The White House had no immediate comment on whether Pierre Yared, currently the CEA’s acting chair, would be permanently named to the top position.
Miran’s resignation was first reported by Barron’s.
Miran has argued for much lower interest rates at every Fed meeting since he joined the central bank in September. Trump has made no secret of his desire for the Fed to reduce interest rates, and has actually made support for easier monetary policy one of his criteria for a new Fed chief.
Powell, whose leadership term ends in May, disclosed in January that the Justice Department had launched a criminal investigation into statements he made to the Senate about the Fed building renovation. Powell described the investigation as part of a broader effort by the administration to control the Fed.
The department last year also opened an investigation into Fed governor Lisa Cook for alleged errors in her mortgage application. He has denied wrongdoing and is suing to stop Trump’s attempt to remove him in a case before the supreme court.
A majority of the Senate banking committee – including all Democratic members and one Republican member – dismissed the Justice Department’s investigation into Powell as political intimidation and said they opposed proceeding with Warsh’s nomination.