Politics
- President Donald Trump said Friday that he will nominate conservative economist Stephen Moore to the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors.
- Moore has been an ardent supporter of Trump and helped craft the president's economic message during the 2016 campaign.
- Moore has also been critical of the Fed's recent interest rate hikes and Fed Chairman Jerome Powell.
President Donald Trump announced Friday that he plans to appoint Stephen Moore, a conservative economist who helped advise the president's 2016 campaign, to a seat on the Federal Reserve Board.
"It is my pleasure to announce that@StephenMoore, a very respected Economist, will be nominated to serve on the Fed Board," Trump tweeted. "I have known Steve for a long time - and have no doubt he will be an outstanding choice!"
Moore helped to craft Trump's economic messaging in 2016 and has gone on to defend the president's policies as a contributor to CNN.
Beyond his contacts with Trump, Moore is a visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation and founded the conservative advocacy organization Club for Growth.
Moore will have to be confirmed by the Senate for the position, which helps to dictate US monetary policy.
A vocal critic of the Fed, Moore has bashed its recent policymaking and attacked current Fed Chairman Jerome Powell.
Read more: The Fed just dimmed its outlook for the US economy»
In a March 13 Wall Street Journal op-ed entitled, "The Fed Is A Threat To Growth," Moore took aim at the Federal Reserve and criticized its recent decision-making.
"When President Trump fumed that the Fed's rate increases were smothering his growth policies, he wasn't entirely wrong," Moore wrote with co-author Louis Woodhill.
But his criticism of the Fed has been ongoing for months. Moore's December op-ed for the Heritage Foundation was simply titled "Fire the Fed" and during a December radio appearance, Moore reiterated the call for the entire Fed Board to be fired.
"I believe the people on the Federal Reserve Board should be thrown out for economic malpractice," Moore said.
The economist also called Fed Chairman Jerome Powell "a bad choice" for the job and suggested that the Fed chairman could be removed.
"What the law says, I believe, is he can replace the Federal Reserve Chairman for cause," Moore said during another radio appearance in December. "And, you know, I would say, well, the cause is that he's wrecking our economy."
Trump has blasted the Federal Reserve and Powell over the past few months, calling the central banks the "greatest threat to the economy."
According to the Journal, Moore attracted Trump's interest with the op-ed and the president called the economist earlier in the week to offer the position.