• Trump has nominated Stephen Miran for a temporary seat on the Federal Reserve Board.
• Miran will replace Adriana Kugler, who resigned to return to academia.
• The appointment is part of Trump’s effort to influence the Federal Reserve’s policies.
• Concerns have been raised about the independence of the Federal Reserve under Miran.
• Miran has proposed significant changes to Fed governance, including reducing term lengths.

On August 7, President Donald Trump announced his nomination of Stephen Miran, the current Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, to fill a recently vacated seat on the Federal Reserve Board. Miran will serve until January 31, 2026, replacing Adriana Kugler, a Biden appointee who resigned for a teaching position at Georgetown University, according to Reuters, South China Morning Post, and Channel News Asia.

Miran's nomination allows Trump to exert greater influence over the Federal Reserve, a central institution traditionally seen as politically independent. Analysts have expressed concerns that his appointment may lead to increased pressure on current Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, especially as Miran aligns with Trump’s advocacy for lower interest rates, which could alter the direction of monetary policy significantly, according to HuffPost, India Times, and South China Morning Post.

Miran has advocated for significant reforms to the Fed, including reducing governors' terms from 14 years to 8 years and granting the President more authority over board appointments. He previously termed the current governance structure as enabling "groupthink" that leads to policy errors, advocating for changes that would make the Fed more accountable to the executive branch, according to Reuters, Al Jazeera, and Le Monde.

Analysts are wary that Miran's influence could lead to decisions that prioritize short-term economic gains aligned with Trump’s policies over the long-term stability traditionally associated with the Federal Reserve. Miran's previous remarks criticizing Powell for not lowering interest rates sooner also suggest that his appointment may expedite the Fed’s decisions impacting interest rates and economic growth, particularly in light of Trump’s push for lower borrowing costs, according to CBS News, NPR, and Reuters.