As Policy Meeting Nears, Trump's "Insider" Officially Joins Fed Amid Growing Turmoil

On the 15th local time, the U.S. Senate narrowly passed the confirmation of Stephen Milan, Trump's nominee for the Federal Reserve Board and current Chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, with a vote of 48 to 47. Milan is expected to participate in the Fed meeting starting September 16.

Milan previously stated that he would not resign from his key White House position during his tenure as a Fed board member but would instead take unpaid leave.

Analysts note that this further expands Trump's influence within the Fed. The Fed is scheduled to hold a monetary policy meeting on the 16th and 17th, and the market widely expects a 25-basis-point rate cut to be announced. However, analysts believe Milan may advocate for a more aggressive rate cut.

Stephen Milan served as a Senior Advisor for Economic Policy at the U.S. Treasury during Trump's first presidential term and was one of Trump's most relied-upon advisors on trade policy. He has repeatedly emphasized that Trump's high-tariff policies would not drive up inflation and argued that tighter immigration policies would reduce housing demand, thereby easing price pressures.

The Federal Reserve Board is the core decision-making body of the Fed, consisting of seven seats, all nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. Aside from Fed Chair Powell, among the remaining six members, Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman and Fed Governor Christopher Waller were nominated and appointed by Trump during his first term. The other four members were all nominated and appointed by former President Biden. Among them, Adriana Kugler resigned from her position as a Fed governor earlier in August. Trump subsequently announced the nomination of Stephen Milan, Chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, to fill the vacancy.