Politics

Trump Taps Conservative For Federal Reserve Board

The Daily Caller

Saagar Enjeti White House Correspondent
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President Donald Trump announced Friday morning that he will nominate Heritage Foundation economist Stephen Moore to the Federal Reserve board of governors.

Moore has long been a supporter of Trump, including throughout the 2016 presidential election. He has written approvingly of the president’s criticisms of the Federal Reserve.

“I believe the people on the Federal Reserve Board should be thrown out for economic malpractice,” he said in December.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is interviewed on CBS News’ “60 Minutes,” March 10, 2019. CBS News screenshot.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is interviewed on CBS News’ “60 Minutes,” March 10, 2019. CBS News screenshot.

Moore also spoke disapprovingly of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, noting, “I always thought he was a bad choice. He’s been a Fed guy for many years. Donald Trump wanted to drain the swamp. The Fed is the swamp.”

He also authored a recent op-ed titled, “Fire the Fed” in which he likened Powell to a misguided pilot who lost his way.

(L to R) U.S. President Donald Trump looks on as his nominee for the chairman of the Federal Reserve Jerome Powell takes to the podium during a press event in the Rose Garden at the White House, November 2, 2017 in Washington, DC. Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images

(L to R) U.S. President Donald Trump looks on as his nominee for the chairman of the Federal Reserve Jerome Powell takes to the podium during a press event in the Rose Garden at the White House, November 2, 2017 in Washington, DC. Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images

An official familiar with the nomination said Moore’s latest op-ed in the Wall Street Journal on the Fed is what pushed his nomination forward. Moore co-authored an op-ed in which he wrote that “the Fed should stabilize the value of the dollar by adopting the commodity-price rule used successfully by former Fed chief Paul Volcker,” explaining that “to break the crippling inflation of the 1970s, Mr. Volcker linked Fed monetary policy to real-time changes in commodity prices.”

Trump has railed against Powell for raising interest rates in recent months, alleging that he is tanking the economy.