Trump Wants Fed Nominees Who Think Like Trump, Kudlow Says
Trump Wants Fed Nominees Who Think Like Trump, Kudlow Says
(Bloomberg) -- Donald Trump wants nominees for two open Federal Reserve Board seats who are sympathetic to his view that strong economic growth doesn’t risk inflation, the president’s top economic adviser said.
“The White House wants highly capable competent people who understand that you can have strong economic growth without higher inflation,” Larry Kudlow, director of the National Economic Council, told reporters at the White House on Thursday. “It’s just that basic.”
Trump repeatedly attacked Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell last year for raising interest rates, and Bloomberg News reported last month that the president had even discussed firing him. One way Trump can directly influence monetary policy is through nominations to the board, though anyone he picks must be confirmed by the Senate.
Kudlow said nominees’ views on economic growth versus inflation would figure prominently in the White House’s choices.
“That’s our biggest criteria - people who understand that when the business side of the economy, when the supply side of the economy surges, we can do so with more people working, frankly at higher wages, and higher productivity and that’s what the data are showing, without causing higher inflation,” Kudlow said.
Kudlow said the board has “a couple open seats,” suggesting the White House won’t re-nominate economist Marvin Goodfriend. Bloomberg has previously reported that Trump’s aides are considering new candidates for the board other than Goodfriend.
Trump nominated him for the board in 2017 but the Senate didn’t vote to confirm Goodfriend or another nominee, former Fed economist Nellie Liang. Liang withdrew from consideration for re-nomination earlier this month, and Goodfriend didn’t appear on a list of dozens of re-nominations the White House submitted to the Senate earlier this month.
To contact the reporter on this story: Jennifer Jacobs in Washington at jjacobs68@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alex Wayne at awayne3@bloomberg.net, Mike Dorning
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