Trump pick Stephen Miran confirmed as Federal Reserve governor

By Bryan Mena, Morgan Rimmer, CNN

(CNN) — Stephen Miran, one of President Donald Trump’s top economic advisers, on Monday was confirmed by the Senate to serve on the Federal Reserve’s powerful Board of Governors, hours before the Fed’s two day monetary policy meeting begins.

The Senate voted 48-47 to confirm Miran. Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska was the only Republican to vote against Miran’s confirmation.

Once sworn in as a Fed governor, Miran will immediately be one of 12 officials voting on interest rate decisions. Miran was nominated to fill the remaining time in former Fed Governor Adriana Kugler’s term, which was set to expire in January 2026. Miran has said he will not resign from his influential post at the White House while he serves on the Fed’s board, instead taking unpaid leave.

The Fed, by law and tradition, has remained independent and nonpartisan. Now for the first time in its 111-year history, a member of the Fed’s Board of Governors is also technically an employee of the president. During his Senate confirmation hearing, Miran said he was advised by an attorney that doing so is legal and that he plans to carry out his duties as a Fed governor independently.

Miran’s confirmation comes at a pivotal moment for the Fed.

The US labor market is weakening as Trump’s widespread tariffs start to push up some prices, simultaneously threatening both sides of the Fed’s dual mandate — stable prices and full employment.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration has carried out an unprecedented pressure campaign against the Fed, blasting the central bank for not lowering interest rates. The effort has involved personal insults lobbed at Fed Chair Jerome Powell and the attempted firing of Fed Governor Lisa Cook, the first time a president has ever acted to remove a top policymaker at the central bank. (An appeals court on Monday rejected, for now, Trump’s attempt to terminate Cook.)

Miran’s confirmation represents a major milestone in Trump’s ongoing bid to bend the historically independent Fed to his will.

Miran told senators during his confirmation hearing he believes the Fed’s independence “is critical to the well functioning of the economy and financial markets.” He added that he will abide by ethics rules and federal law as a Fed governor.

Democrats remain skeptical of Miran’s transition from chair of the Council of Economic Advisers to Fed governor.

During his hearing before the Senate Banking Committee, Democrats questioned Miran’s ability to distance himself from Trump, raising concerns over his plans to take a leave of absence while serving at the Fed. There was no Republican opposition to his nomination during the hearing.

Some Democrats characterized Miran’s nomination as ironic, pointing to a Manhattan Institute paper he co-authored last year criticizing the revolving door of leaders between the White House and the Fed.

In response, Miran said his paper simply laid out proposals to reform the Fed and that “it’s important that we have democratic oversight.”

“I’m very independently minded, as shown by my willingness to stray from consensus and have out-of-consensus views, and I believe that I will continue to be as independent in my thinking process, if confirmed,” Miran said during the hearing.

This story has been updated with additional context.

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