Fed Gov. Miran steps down from White House CEA role

(Bloomberg) — Federal Reserve Governor Stephen Miran has stepped down from his post leading the Council of Economic Advisers, according to a White House official.

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Miran has been serving in the dual roles since September, when he was nominated by President Donald Trump and confirmed by the Senate to the Fed. The central bank appointment was a temporary arrangement for a term that expired Saturday, after the seat was vacated early by a Biden-administration appointee, Adriana Kugler, in August.

Miran had originally taken unpaid leave from his CEA post, with the suggestion he could return to the White House at the end of his term. The unusual arrangement drew criticism from those who argued Miran was threatening to undermine the central bank’s independence by not fully resigning his post. 

“While I took an unpaid leave of absence from the Council to come to the Federal Reserve, I promised the Senate that if I should stay on the Board past January, I would formally depart the Council,” Miran said Tuesday in a letter to the president. “I believe it is important to stay true to my word while I continue to perform the job at the Federal Reserve to which you and the Senate appointed me.”

In a letter earlier Tuesday, Senate Banking Committee Democrats called on Miran to step down from the Fed to end what they cast as an “improper arrangement.”

Trump last week announced his plans to nominate former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh to serve as the Fed’s next chair, and expectations are he’ll appoint him to Miran’s seat. Senator Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, has threatened to hold up all Fed nominees over a Justice Department probe into Jerome Powell and the Fed’s ongoing headquarters renovation.\

Miran has said he would remain at the Fed until a successor is confirmed.

His plans to leave the CEA were first reported by Barron’s.