Steve Miran was the only Fed governor to vote for a deeper rate cut after this week’s decision
Steve Miran says he’s not Trump’s puppet. On Friday, speaking on CNBC, Steve confirmed he was the only one at this week’s Fed meeting who voted for a faster and deeper interest rate cut.
Two days earlier, the Federal Reserve reduced rates by 0.25 percentage points. Steve wanted more. “I will do independent analysis based on my interpretation of the data, based on my interpretation of the economy,” he said. “And that’s all that I will do.”
Steve just joined the Fed after leaving his job as Trump’s top economic adviser. Until recently, he was chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, writing reports to back Trump’s agenda.
Then Trump nominated him to fill a four-month vacancy on the Fed board. Now, Steve’s vote on monetary policy raises questions. Some economists and ex-officials think he might put politics first. He calls that “silly.”
Steve admits White House call before vote, denies pressure
On Tuesday morning, before the Fed meeting started, Steve spoke to Trump. “I did not talk to him about how I would vote,” he said. He called it a simple congratulatory call. But the timing triggered fresh scrutiny.
Trump has loudly pushed for steep rate cuts—up to three percentage points—and wants loyalists on the board. Even conservative economists aren’t all comfortable with that idea.
Steve said he’s open to quitting his old White House role if he gets a longer-term Fed post. Right now, he’s on leave from Trump’s team, but still in a gray zone. His appointment, and the politics behind it, are hard to ignore.
Especially as Trump is trying to remove other Fed members, too. He accused Lisa Cook of mortgage fraud, and her case is now at the Supreme Court. Trump also wants to replace Chair Jerome Powell once his term ends next year.
Adriana Kugler’s sudden resignation in August gave Trump the opening to bring Steve in. That’s how fast this shift happened. Powell, asked about conflict concerns, avoided it. “We’re strongly committed to maintaining our independence,” Powell said. “And beyond that, I really don’t have anything to share.”
Steve pushes lone forecast, breaks from rest of Fed
This week, the Fed released its latest dot plot, a chart of where each Fed official thinks rates are going. Most dots pointed to another half-point cut by the end of the year, down to 3.5%-3.75%.
One dot, lower than all the rest, pointed to 2.75%-3%. That one was Steve’s. He confirmed it. That means he wants much bigger cuts in just two meetings left this year.
Steve says the economy needs it. He claims Trump’s tariffs don’t raise inflation, and the deportation policies actually reduce it. “I don’t see any material inflation from tariffs,” he said.
“Disinflation” is how he described the effects of immigration changes. These are the same views he held at the White House. And now he’s bringing them into Fed decisions.
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