The hunt is back on for candidates to fill two empty Federal Reserve Board seats after Herman Cain and Stephen Moore were dropped in quick succession.
President Trump has been frustrated so far in his desire to appoint figures sympathetic to his aim of reducing interest rates. Analysts believe Trump is likely to try again with loyalists, given that the Fed has so far proved resistant to his demands for a more expansionary monetary policy.
There is no shortage of well-qualified candidates. But with the decision apparently resting with the president, there is plenty of scope from an unexpected, quixotic choice.
These are some of the names being mentioned in economic circles:
David Beckworth: A former Treasury economist whose academic credentials have been burnished with his current position at George Mason University. He comes from the center-right and has a history of advocating for lower interest rates, most recently in a National Review column that praised Trump’s instincts.
Ramesh Ponnuru: Two days after Cain withdrew his name for consideration, Ponnuru tweeted (from vacation in Umbria, Italy): “I agree with @realDonaldTrump: We need to keep interest rates low now to keep our economy growing.” As a senior editor at National Review and a frequent TV pundit, Ponnuru has the sort of profile and credentials that could catch the eye of the viewer-in-chief.
Judy Shelton: Well-known for her position calling for a return to the gold standard, she served as an economic adviser to Trump during the 2016 campaign and garnered early mentions as a future Fed board chair. However, being in tune with Trump’s campaign — when the candidate blamed low interest rates for a stock market bubble — makes her less compatible with Trump’s latest calls for further reductions. But if Trump wanted to really sideline the Fed, her gold standard plan would be one way to do it.
Karl Smith: A Republican with a track record of advocating monetary stimulus on its merits (rather than falling into line when Trump tweets on interest rates), Smith is consistent with the president’s stated aims but not a hack or lackey. He currently serves as a Bloomberg columnist and is a former assistant professor of economics at the University of North Carolina.
Scott Sumner: Comes with solid academic credentials and currently serves as director of the Program on Monetary Policy at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. His reputation as a deep thinker has seen him described as the “eminence grise” of market monetarism by the U.K.’s Daily Telegraph. He would be a deeply impressive choice, although it is difficult to see Trump overlooking a recent post on his influential Money Illusion blog headlined “Impeach Him.”
