Stephen Miran Vows Unpaid White House Leave If Confirmed to Fed—Senate Hearing Reveals
Fed nominee Stephen Miran drops bombshell commitment during Senate confirmation: will take unpaid leave from White House role if approved.
Political Calculus or Ethical Stand?
The move signals either remarkable integrity or calculated positioning—because in DC, even altruism has strategic fingerprints. Miran's pledge avoids potential conflicts but doesn't erase questions about revolving doors between government and finance.
Because nothing says public service like needing a rule to stop double-dipping on taxpayer-funded roles.
Stephen pushes back on White House control rumors
Stephen’s already been trying to convince Trump to install a “shadow chair” at the Fed.
With the president’s public calls for huge interest rate cuts and his insults at Fed Chair Jerome Powell, the fear among lawmakers is that Trump, allegedly, wants to be directly involved in the central bank’s voting table, thereby controlling it essentially.But Stephen pushed back, telling the committee no one in the Trump administration had ever asked him, formally or informally, to vote a certain way on monetary policy.
New Jersey Democrat Andy Kim asked, “Has anyone in the administration asked you to commit, formally or informally, to vote to lower interest rates?” Stephen responded with one word: “No.”
He repeated that claim throughout the hearing. “I will always be happy to hear the opinions on monetary policy from everyone that has got an opinion so that I can help evaluate whether my position is actually the correct position and whether I really should be believing in things that I believe — and that would include allowing the president to lobby,” he said.
He clarified again: “The president is entitled to a view on appropriate monetary policy, as is everyone else interested in the subject.”
That didn’t do much to silence critics who pointed to his continuing White House ties as a possible backdoor influence. Stephen said his legal team advised that staying on leave was compliant, but if a longer-term nomination came down, he’d step away completely.
Senators test Stephen on market reaction and personal ethics
Virginia Democrat Mark Warner asked Stephen if he believed bond markets would react negatively to signs that the Fed was becoming more political. “I don’t anticipate the bond market saying that,” Stephen said, adding, “It is impossible to respond to a hypothetical.”
The topic changed when Ohio Republican Bernie Moreno brought up the recent controversy around Fed governor Lisa Cook. Trump had announced plans to fire Cook over mortgage fraud allegations, which she’s denied. Moreno used that moment to ask Stephen a direct personal question.
“Have you ever applied on a mortgage application with the objective of getting a lower interest rate?” Moreno asked.
“I had never done that,” Stephen answered.
“You’re already in the game, then. That’s good news,” Moreno replied, turning back to the chair. “It seems like what we’re talking about here, Mr. Chairman, is restoring the independence of the Fed.”
Stephen’s potential first vote as governor would come during the Federal Reserve’s next meeting on September 16–17, just weeks from now.
Whether lawmakers believe that or not remains to be seen.
Get seen where it counts. Advertise in Cryptopolitan Research and reach crypto’s sharpest investors and builders.
