Miran was nominated by Trump as the chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, supporting increased control over the Federal Reserve and criticizing Yellen for manipulating U.S. Treasury bonds

Trump nominates Stephen Miran as the new chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, whose policy proposals may have a profound impact on the independence of the Federal Reserve and the overall economic policy of the United States.

Over the weekend, Trump announced the nomination of Stephen Miran as the chairman of his Council of Economic Advisers, sparking widespread attention on the future direction of U.S. economic policy. This nomination reflects Trump's camp's dissatisfaction with U.S. economic policy, particularly monetary policy.

Stephen Miran holds a Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University and served as a senior economic policy advisor at the U.S. Department of the Treasury during Trump's first term. He is currently an economic researcher at the Manhattan Institute and also serves as a senior strategist at the hedge fund Hudson Bay Capital Management LP.

It is worth mentioning that Miran is a critic of the Federal Reserve, advocating for increased political control over it. Additionally, he has criticized Biden's economic policies, previously stating that Yellen was manipulating the U.S. Treasury market.

If Miran's nomination is confirmed, he will succeed Jared Bernstein as the chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, who was nominated by Biden in February 2023 and confirmed by the Senate in June of the same year.

Challenges to Federal Reserve Independence

Miran calls for comprehensive reforms of the Federal Reserve to ensure greater political control over it. In a report released in March of this year, Miran co-authored a report with Manhattan Institute senior researcher Dan Katz, proposing the following reform suggestions:

1. Shorten the terms of Federal Reserve Board members: Reduce the current 14-year term to 8 years.
2. Increase presidential control over board members: Grant the president the power to dismiss board members at any time.
3. Reform the selection mechanism for regional Federal Reserve Bank boards: Suggest that governors of each district select board members for the 12 regional Federal Reserve Banks.

If these suggestions are implemented, they will significantly alter the independence and operation of the Federal Reserve.

Criticism of Yellen's Manipulation of U.S. Debt

Meanwhile, Miran has been a critic of the Biden administration's economic policies. In August 2021, he warned that the bipartisan-supported infrastructure bill would "add fuel to the inflation fire." In July of this year, Miran co-authored a paper with Hudson Bay senior economic advisor and "Dr. Doom" Nouriel Roubini titled "Radical Debt Issuance and Monetary Policy Struggles," accusing Yellen of manipulating the U.S. government debt market.

Wall Street Journal previously mentioned that Miran discussed how the U.S. Treasury has played the role of "invisible quantitative easing (QE)" through aggressive debt issuance (ATI). The article argues:

In the past year, ATI has been the main driver of the market, creating a gap of over $800 billion in medium- and long-term coupon debt, which has lowered the yield on 10-year U.S. Treasuries by 25 basis points, equivalent to a one-time 100 basis point rate cut by the Federal Reserve or four 25 basis point cuts. This almost offsets all of the Federal Reserve's interest rate hikes last year.**

The article echoes the criticism from several Republican politicians in the United States against Yellen, focusing on a measure taken by the U.S. Treasury in November last year to slow down the increase in the issuance of long-term U.S. Treasury bonds and instead rely more on short-term notes