Trump Taps Stephen Miran for Temporary Fed Board Role, Signalling Push for Greater White House Influence

United States President Donald Trump has nominated Stephen Miran, his top economic adviser, to serve a four-month term on the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors — a short-term move that still carries political weight in Trump’s ongoing campaign to reshape the central bank.

The announcement came Thursday, with Miran set to replace Governor Adriana Kugler, a Biden appointee stepping down Friday to return to her academic post at Georgetown University. The term will expire on January 31, 2026, and requires Senate confirmation. The White House is still seeking a candidate for the full 14-year seat that opens February 1.

Miran, currently chair of the White House’s Council of Economic Advisers and a former Treasury official in Trump’s first administration, is a vocal advocate for overhauling Fed governance. His proposals include shortening board member terms, bringing the Fed under direct presidential authority, ending the “revolving door” between the executive branch and the Fed, and nationalising the Fed’s 12 regional banks.

The appointment marks Trump’s first real opportunity in this term to exert more influence over the Fed — one of the few federal bodies that retains independence. It also puts a staunch Trump loyalist in a position to challenge current Fed Chair Jerome Powell, whom the president has sharply criticised for keeping short-term interest rates unchanged.

Miran has consistently defended Trump’s signature economic policies — from income tax cuts to sweeping tariffs — insisting they will spur enough growth to cut deficits, while downplaying concerns that tariffs could drive inflation higher. His presence on the board, even temporarily, gives Trump a potential inside track to push for looser monetary policy, something Powell and other Fed policymakers have resisted despite sustained White House pressure.