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Trump says he will tap economists for 2 key Fed vacancies
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump, who has criticized the Federal Reserve for not cutting interest rates, said Tuesday that he intends to nominate two economists to fill influential positions on the central bank’s Board of Governors.
Trump said he would name to the board Christopher Waller, who is executive vice-president and research director at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, where he has worked since 2009. He also tapped Judy Shelton, the U.S. executive director for the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development. Shelton was previously an economic adviser to Trump’s presidential campaign.
The planned nominations were announced by Trump in a tweet late Tuesday. Each must be confirmed by the Senate.
Trump’s choices come after he has harshly and repeatedly criticized the Fed under Chair Jerome Powell for raising rates four times last year and for keeping rates unchanged this year. Trump has argued that the Fed, by keeping its benchmark rate in a range of 2.25% to 2.5%, is slowing economic growth and depressing the stock market.