Stephen Miran Joins Federal Reserve Board After Narrow Senate Confirmation

Stephen Miran, a Trump ally who has defended President Donald Trump’s tariffs and criticized the Federal Reserve, was sworn in Tuesday as a Fed governor after a narrow Senate confirmation. 

Miran has staunchly defended Trump’s tariffs in the past, arguing in August that the “doom and gloom” expectation from tariffs “just hasn’t panned out.” He was narrowly confirmed on Monday with a vote of 48-47.

Miran will take unpaid leave from his role as chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers rather than resign — a decision that U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent defended in a CNBC interview earlier on Tuesday. “I don’t think there’s anything irregular about it at all,” Bessent said. 

He added that Miran is expected to return to his role at the White House after completing his term at the Federal Reserve. “If he didn’t take the leave of absence, if he stepped down, the job would have remained open, and then he would have had to be reconfirmed whenever he leaves January, February,” Bessent said. “I think the signaling value here is that the plan is for him to come back” to the White House Council of Economic Advisers as its chair.

Miran is expected to participate in the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday, closely watched by retail traders for guidance on U.S. monetary policy.

U.S. equities traded in the red by midday on Tuesday. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) slipped 0.19%, the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (DIA) dipped 0.4%, and the Nasdaq-100 tracking Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) moved 0.12% lower. Despite the drop, retail sentiment around QQQ on Stocktwits moved higher within ‘bullish’ territory over the past day.

Read also: Bitcoin, Ethereum Trade Cautiously Ahead Of Fed Meeting – Congress To Weigh BTC Reserve

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