Stephen Miran, Donald Trump's new appointee to the Federal Reserve's interest-rate-setting board, has reiterated his call for more aggressive interest rate cuts. Last week, the Fed reduced rates by a quarter point to a range of 4% to 4.25%, the lowest since early 2023. Miran was the sole dissenter among 12 voting members, advocating for a half-point cut instead.
Speaking at the Economics Club of New York, Miran argued that rates should fall below 3% by the end of the year. He dismissed concerns that Trump's tariffs would stoke inflation, stating, 'Relatively small changes in some good prices have led to what I view as unreasonable levels of concern.' He predicted tariffs would lead to 'substantial swings in net national savings.'
This stance contrasts sharply with Fed Chair Jerome Powell, who noted that tariffs have begun to push up prices in some categories. Powell warned that while tariff-driven inflation might be short-lived, it could become persistent. Miran countered that exporting countries would lower prices, and that housing cost inflation would cool as immigration policies reduce the US population.
Economic data supports Powell's caution: the consumer price index rose from 2.3% to 2.9% between April and December, above the Fed's 2% target. Miran, however, questioned the precision of inflation targets, saying, 'Having a very precise inflation target like that can lead to excessive micromanagement.'
Miran's appointment marks the first time in nearly a century that a Fed governor also holds an executive branch role, as he chairs Trump's Council of Economic Advisers (on leave until January 2026). He vowed to remain a dissenting voice, stating, 'I’m not going to vote for something I don’t believe in just for the sake of creating an illusion of consensus.' He maintained that Trump never asked him to set policy in a specific way.
