Stephen Miran departs White House economic council while remaining a Fed governor

Stephen Miran announced his resignation from a leadership position on the White House’s economic advisory team even as he continues to occupy a seat at the Federal Reserve. The move follows an earlier confirmation arrangement that allowed him to keep an unpaid White House post while sworn in at the Fed, a rare dual alignment that had attracted scrutiny. Miran’s letter makes clear he had told senators he would relinquish his White House duties if his service at the Fed extended beyond the end of January; technically his governor term concluded on January 31. That timing creates a window for the White House: only sitting governors can be elevated to the Fed chair, so replacing Miran on the board would permit a favored nominee to be installed and then elevated when the chair position opens. The administration has already nominated a candidate to lead the Fed once the current chair’s term ends in May, and the personnel arithmetic is crucial because there are no unfilled governor slots right now. Miran has used his platform on the board to press for faster, larger interest-rate reductions, registering formal dissents at multiple meetings and urging deeper cuts than the majority supported. The Fed last year delivered three quarter-point reductions, while Miran argued for steeper moves in public speeches and in his votes. His departure from the White House removes one direct channel linking the central bank to the administration’s policy arguments, but it also enables a potential governor swap that could consolidate the president’s influence over rate-setting leadership. Against a backdrop of public attacks on the Fed and a recent criminal inquiry into testimony given by the chair, this personnel shift intensifies questions about institutional independence and how quickly monetary policy might be steered toward lower rates. Market participants and policymakers will watch the governor seat replacement process closely for signs that political considerations are reshaping senior Fed appointments and the policy trajectory. In short, the resignation recalibrates the personnel mechanics the administration can use to try to change central bank leadership and amplifies the debate over whether monetary policy will be subjected to greater political direction in the months ahead.