US Fed governor Miran resigns from White House advisor role
Desai praised Miran as an "enormous asset of the White House" and a key member of the Trump administration's economic team.
Democratic senators wrote to Stephen Miran asking him to resign "immediately" from his position on the powerful Fed board. (AFP)
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WASHINGTON - US Federal Reserve Governor Stephen Miran has resigned from his position as an economist advisor to the Trump administration, upholding a Senate pledge to depart if he continued in his post at the central bank, the White House announced Tuesday.
"In accordance with the pledge he made to the Senate during his confirmation to the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors, Stephen Miran has submitted his resignation from the Council of Economic Advisers," White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement.
Desai praised Miran as an "enormous asset of the White House" and a key member of the Trump administration's economic team.
President Donald Trump had nominated Miran to the Fed's board to finish out the term of Adriana Kugler, an appointee of former president Joe Biden who stepped down last year.
He did not resign from his position as chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) at the time, instead taking an unpaid leave of absence on the grounds that his Fed term was set to expire a few months later on January 31.
His role as CEA chair had sparked fears over the central bank's independence, with the Democrats criticizing the unusual arrangement.
His Fed term ended at the end of January but he can stay on until the president nominates a successor.
On Monday, Democratic senators wrote to Miran asking him to resign "immediately" from his position on the powerful Fed board.
"Your extended tenure at the Federal Reserve has only compounded what was an improper arrangement from the outset, and this dual employment must end," they wrote.
Miran had said the reason for the dual role was because he was filling a short-term vacancy.
Critics have accused Trump of seeking to tip the Fed's board in favor of lowering interest rates.
However, Miran vowed to uphold the central bank's independence and sought to reassure lawmakers at his confirmation hearing in September.
Trump plans to install Kevin Warsh in his place, whom he has nominated to become chairman of the Fed, replacing Jerome Powell, whose term ends in May.
Warsh's nomination must be confirmed by the Senate, a process that can take several months