Trump's Fed pick says he will keep White House job 7 hours agoShareSaveNatalie ShermanBBC NewsShareSaveBloombergGettyPresident Donald Trump's pick to fill a Federal Reserve vacancy said he did not plan to resign from his White House role, if confirmed, alarming Democrats who said his elevation would bring the president closer to controlling the central bank.Stephen Miran, currently chief of Trump' Trump's Fed pick says he will keep White House job 40 minutes agoShareSaveNatalie ShermanBBC NewsShareSaveBloombergGettyPresident Donald Trump's pick to fill a Federal Reserve vacancy said he did not plan to resign from his White House role, if confirmed, alarming Democrats who said his elevation would bring the president closer to controlling the central bank.Stephen Miran, currently chief of Trump's Council of Economic Advisers, told lawmakers at his confirmation hearing on Thursday that he intended to take a leave of absence from the White House, given the short term nature of the Fed post.He assured them that he would act independently if confirmed.But he demurred when Democrats demanded he prove his independence by going on the record saying Trump had lost the 2020 election.He also ducked questions asking him whether the president was right when he claimed that officials had faked jobs data for political reasons and on his past recommendations for Fed overhaul, including warnings against naming political figures to the board.Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat, said Miran would be seen as a "puppet" who would not be trusted as an independent voice."You have made clear that you will do or say whatever Donald Trump wants," she told him.
"That may work in a political position but it will take an axe to Federal Reserve independence."Miran called the independence of the central bank "paramount" and said he had not been asked by anyone at the White House to commit "formally or informally" to lowering interest rates..
*Reporting by BBC Business.*
