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Senate Republicans are racing to install one of President Donald Trump’s economic advisers on the Federal Reserve board as soon as possible — and they may even get it done in time for the central bank’s next vote on interest rates.
As Trump grows more desperate to bring down borrowing costs, Republicans told Semafor Tuesday that they’re hoping to confirm Council of Economic Advisers Chair Stephen Miran by the time Fed meetings begin on Sept. 16. That leaves them with an ambitious timeline: less than 10 legislative days to hold a committee hearing, take a committee vote, and finish floor debate on his nomination.
Pulling off such a lightning-quick confirmation for Miran will require fending off Democratic pushback to the Trump administration’s ongoing attempt to bend the Fed to its will, including by attempting to fire Governor Lisa Cook over mortgage fraud allegations.
“We’re absolutely going to take a look and see what we can do through committee, and then immediately move it to the floor,” Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., told Semafor of Miran.
Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, a former Banking Committee chair, said Republicans “would like to” fill the seat as fast as they can, even as a long list of Trump nominees still awaits floor consideration.
GOP leaders who set the floor schedule are looking to change the Senate rules to allow for quicker confirmations, though it’s not clear if they could speed up the clock before voting on Miran. Republicans would need near unanimous support to move quickly — and some of them are ready to join Democrats in scrutinizing Trump’s handling of the Fed.
Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., said on his way to meet with Miran Tuesday night that he plans to press Miran about his views on central bank independence at Thursday’s Banking Committee confirmation hearing.
“I want to make sure he understands how important this particular issue is to the long-term success of the president’s economic plans and to the long-term stability of the dollar,” said Rounds.
“Treasuries are critical — and people have got to have confidence in the treasuries,” added Rounds, who was the only Republican to vote to confirm Cook in 2023.
The GOP’s plans for Cook’s Fed seat are far less clear. Asked about Trump’s attempt to remove her, senators mostly deflected Tuesday by citing her pending lawsuit or questioning why Cook hadn’t more adamantly defended her innocence.
“It’s in the courts, and I don’t know how the courts are going to rule, but I start with the threshold question, [which] is, ‘Did she do it or did she not do it?’” Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., told Semafor. “Show us the proof.”
Kennedy, like Rounds, said he planned to probe Miran over the Fed’s distance from partisanship this week: “I want to hear that he believes in the independence of the Fed.”
“I don’t believe in having a Federal Reserve that acts on political considerations. I believe the Federal Reserve should be independent — and as evidence of that, I give you Turkey,” Kennedy added.
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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Semafor Monday that “there’s a very good chance that … Miran is seated before the September meeting,” hinting at the White House’s keen interest in a quick confirmation. Senate Banking Chair Tim Scott, R-S.C., already spoke with Miran by phone last month.
If Miran gets seated in time for the September vote on interest rates, Trump could enter the Fed meeting even more confident in an interest-rate cut that markets are already betting on.
Still, the Senate is not known for fast movement.
“I honestly don’t know,” Rounds said when asked if senators could confirm Miran that early.
Trump has spent much of his second administration trying to assert control over the Fed and nudge its policymakers to lower borrowing costs by slashing interest rates — a pressure campaign he took to a new level last week by trying to remove Cook.
As a judge weighs whether Cook can keep her seat, the Fed has said it plans to comply with whatever the courts decide. Much could hinge on how the Supreme Court treats the Fed in a related ruling, expected as soon as this fall, on the president’s ability to fire officials at some independent agencies.
But the Senate might not be able to fill Cook’s seat until her specific challenge runs its course, which could take months.
“The president needs to respect [the courts]. But he’s willing to push it,” Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said in an interview. “I don’t know that you can say there’s a vacancy yet, if she has said, ‘I’m not stepping down, I’m not resigning.’ And he can’t fire her without cause and the court needs to determine whether there’s cause. I don’t know if there’s a vacancy.”
Notable
- Cook’s attorney said in court Tuesday that Cook “did not ever commit mortgage fraud,” Bloomberg Law reports.