President Donald Trump intends to nominate Christopher Waller, executive vice president at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, and Judy Shelton, an economic adviser to the president during his 2016 campaign, to the Federal Reserve’s board.
The announcements, in a pair of tweets late Tuesday, come after Trump’s earlier nominees, Stephen Moore and Herman Cain, both withdrew from consideration. Moore, a conservative pundit, dropped out of consideration in May, citing public scrutiny of his professional and personal lives. Cain, the businessman and former GOP presidential candidate, dropped out of contention for the Fed in late April.
Shelton was earlier speculated to be a pick for the Federal Reserve board. In an interview with CNBC in June, Shelton said that if appointed, she would lower interest rates to 0% in one to two years, echoing calls from Trump to lower rates.
Waller has worked at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis since 2009, and previously was a chair of economics at the University of Notre Dame and a chair in macroeconomics and monetary theory at the University of Kentucky. He has written about the dangers of an inverted yield curve, in which short-term Treasury yields outpace long-term yields.
The 3-month bond yield topped 10-year yields in May, the widest yield curve inversion since the financial crisis. Some economists and investors believe the curve sends a warning about economic growth.
Both nominees will need Senate confirmation. The White House did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
Trump has lambasted Fed Chair Jerome Powell and the Federal Reserve for raising interest rates, rather than cutting and aiding the flow of money. Trump recently said that the Fed has “gone crazy” with monetary policy. Powell has denied that the bank’s decisions are influenced by any political pressure.
