Expand your active ETF horizons.: With Fidelity Active ETFs, you can have the flexibility needed to adapt and transform based on market conditions with potential tax efficiencies. Learn more here.
You usually don’t think "high-stakes" when you think of a Senate Banking Committee hearing.
But all eyes were on today’s congressional discussion to confirm Stephen Miran, a White House economic advisor and Trump loyalist, to take the spot of Fed Governor Adriana Kugler, who unexpectedly announced earlier this year that she is stepping down.
After all, the fate of the entire economy hangs in the balance.
Who even is this guy? You might know Miran as the architect behind President Trump’s tariff philosophy. But before becoming the chair of the Council of Economic Advisors, Miran was a conservative, free market economist who got his PhD at Harvard, then worked at a slew of investment firms. He later served as a senior advisor for economic strategy at the US Department of the Treasury during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Now, Miran looks to become a key part of Trump’s increasingly overt attacks on the Fed’s independence. The president is demanding that the Fed lower interest rates, and to force the issue, Trump has threatened to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell, and has actually fired Fed Governor Lisa Cook for allegations of mortgage fraud.
Just this morning, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Department of Justice is officially opening an investigation into Cook.
Depending on independence
During today’s hearing, Miran said he supports the Fed’s independence. “In my view, the most important job of the central bank is to prevent depressions and hyperinflations. Independence of monetary policy is a critical element for its success,” he said in his opening remarks.
He also noted that tariffs haven’t spurred on higher inflation the way that many feared they would, and promised that his thoughts on inflation would be “informed by the broad suite of economic policies, and not just monetary policy.”
While that sounds good on paper, in practice, his actions indicate Miran will retain his close ties to Trump if he’s confirmed.
He told Congress he plans to take an unpaid leave of absence from his role as chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers through January—keeping one foot in the door at the White House, effectively letting him pick up his old job right when his term at the Fed would end.
Considering his future career hinges on staying in the president’s good graces, only time will tell how independent Miran truly ends up being.—LB