Trump-Backed Stephen Miran On Track For Fed Confirmation Before September Meeting: Report

The Republican-led Senate is reportedly on track to confirm Stephen Miran to the Federal Reserve before the central bank’s September policy meeting, fulfilling President Donald Trump’s push to fast-track the appointment. 

Democrats told Bloomberg that they lack the votes to block Miran, though they can briefly delay proceedings in the Banking Committee and on the Senate floor. The report stated that a hearing is expected next week, but has not yet been scheduled. 

Trump nominated Miran, a close adviser, to fill the remainder of Fed Governor Adriana Kugler’s term, who stepped down in August. Miran will be stepping in to serve the remainder of her tenure, till January. According to the report, even though Democrats don’t have the votes to block his nomination, they are likely to grill him over Trump’s decision to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook and his efforts to undermine the Fed’s independence.

The report noted that beyond Democratic opposition, Miran may also face scrutiny from Republicans on the panel who have previously defended the Fed’s independence. That includes Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana, who stood by Fed Chair Jerome Powell during Trump’s barrage of criticism.

U.S. equities were mixed in morning trade on Thursday. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) was down 0.1%, the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (DIA) slipped 0.18%, but the Nasdaq-100 tracking Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) remained in the green, edging 0.1% higher. Retail sentiment around QQQ on Stocktwits improved to ‘neutral’ from ‘bearish’ territory over the past day.

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