WASHINGTON, March 22 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he has picked Stephen Moore, an economic commentator affiliated with a conservative think tank, for a seat on the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors.
“I will be nominating Mr. Moore to the Fed,” Trump told reporters as he arrived in Florida for a weekend trip. “He’ll be great on the Fed.”
The Wall Street Journal, citing a senior administration official, reported earlier that Trump had made an offer to Moore this week after speaking with him to compliment him on an opinion article he co-authored in the Journal.
Before joining the conservative Heritage Foundation, Moore had worked as an editorial page writer at the Journal. He also was an adviser to Trump’s presidential campaign.
Moore, whose nomination would require Senate approval, helped write Trump’s signature tax plan. The position would give him a vote at the policy-setting table of an institution whose interest rate hikes last year were a frequent target of Trump’s ire.
Trump was so incensed by the Fed’s policies he is said to have sought advice late last year on whether he could fire its chairman, Jerome Powell.
A spokeswoman for Republican Senator Crapo, who leads the Senate banking committee whose support is needed before a Fed governor can be appointed, declined to comment.
There are two open positions on the Fed’s seven-seat board.
The White House is also continuing to consider one-time presidential candidate and pizza chain magnate Herman Cain for a spot, Bloomberg News reported late on Thursday, despite concerns that the accusations of sexual harassment that derailed Cain’s bid for president could complicate his Senate confirmation. (Reporting by Ann Saphir and David Alexander; Editing by Kim Coghill and Meredith Mazzilli)