By Michael S. Derby
May 8 (Reuters) – Federal Reserve Governor Stephen Miran said on Friday that he hopes current central bank Chair Jerome Powell will stay on as a governor only for a short period of time.
“Transitions are important,” Miran said on Fox Business Network’s program ‘Mornings with Maria’. But, he said, “I think it’s important to make sure that it’s a transition period and that there’s nothing sort of more nefarious” going on with Powell staying in his governor role when his term as chair ends on May 15.
Kevin Warsh is on track to succeed Powell as Fed leader pending a vote in the Senate.
Powell said last week in the wake of the latest Federal Open Market Committee meeting that after the conclusion of his leadership term, he would continue to serve for a time in his governor role that extends until 2028, while waiting to see if the Trump administration’s legal attacks on the central bank, widely derided as political in nature, end.
While Powell’s extended presence on the Fed’s board could provide a counterweight in favor of the status quo amid Warsh’s plans for changes at the Fed, the outgoing leader said last week “I’m not looking to be … a high-profile dissident or anything like that.”
Miran said, “It’s important to make sure it’s a transition period, and not that there’s a division of loyalty within the Fed” and “that people are unsure who’s in charge.” He added, “that’s why I think it’s important, even though it could be helpful for a transition, that we make sure it’s a transition period.”
(Reporting by Michael S. Derby; Editing by Susan Fenton and Chizu Nomiyama )
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