Trump says he’ll nominate Stephen Moore to Fed

President Trump said Friday he is appointing Stephen Moore, an economic adviser to his 2016 campaign, to a spot on the Federal Reserve Board.

Trump told the White House pool he would be making the appointment.

“It is my pleasure to announce that @StephenMoore, a very respected Economist, will be nominated to serve on the Fed Board,” Trump tweeted Friday. “I have known Steve for a long time – and have no doubt he will be an outstanding choice!”

{mosads}Moore has been one of the fiercest defenders of the president’s economic agenda. He authored a book released last year entitled “Trumponomics: Inside the America First Plan to Revive Our Economy,” with prominent conservative economist Arthur Laffer.

Moore thanked Trump in a tweet “for the opportunity to serve & for your zealous commitment to freeing the American economic engine from government overreach & oppressive taxation!”

The appointment of Moore will be seen as an effort to add a loyal supporter of the president’s agenda to the Fed, as well as a figure opposed to interest rate hikes.

Trump has frequently criticized the Fed and its chairman, Jerome Powell, for raising interest rates throughout his presidency.

He argued Thursday that Powell had prevented U.S. gross domestic product from growing by 4 percent in 2018, compared to the 2.9 percent growth rate reported by the Commerce Department last month.

While Moore had criticized the Fed for keeping interest rates low during the Obama administration, he’s recently rebuked the central bank for raising rates during Trump’s presidency.

Moore called the Fed’s monetary policy “a threat to growth” in a Wall Street Journal column published last week.

Trump reportedly offered Moore a spot on the Fed board while calling Moore earlier this week to praise his column, according to the Journal.

The president’s nominees to the Fed board are subject to confirmation by the Senate, where Moore could face trouble winning approval from the Republican majority.

GOP senators derailed Trump’s nomination of Nellie Liang, a former Fed director and economist, over concerns she’d be too supportive of lower interest rates and tighter bank regulation.

Senate conservatives also blocked the confirmation of another Trump Fed nominee, Carnegie Mellon professor Marvin Goodfriend, over his past controversial monetary policy proposals.

Moore has been a conservative economic commentator and researcher for three decades, with stints at the Cato Institute, the Joint Economic Committee of Congress and several economic advisory firms.

He’s also been a member of the Wall Street Journal editorial board and has written opinion columns supporting Trump’s economic policy for several media outlets, including The Hill.

If confirmed, Moore would fill one of two vacant seats on the Fed board, which includes seven positions total. Trump is also reportedly considering 2012 Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain for one of the positions.

Four of the five current members of the Fed board were nominated by Trump in some capacity. 

Trump’s additions to the Fed include Vice Chairman Richard Clarida, Vice Chairman for Supervision Randal Quarles, and Governor Michelle Bowman.

Powell, first nominated to the Fed by former President Obama, joined the board as a governor in 2012 and was appointed to the chairmanship by Trump in 2017. Fed Governor Lael Brainard was also nominated by Obama and joined the board in 2014.

Updated at 3:55 p.m.