New Fed governor Stephen Miran is not "concerned" tariffs have raised inflation
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Federal Reserve governor Stephen Miran. Photo: Daniel Heuer/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Less than one week in the job, new Trump-appointed Federal Reserve governor Stephen Miran is making the rounds on television to explain his rationale for a half-percentage point interest rate cut.
- Miran confirmed that he was the outlier among the Fed officials with a projection of another 1.25 percentage point worth of cuts by year-end.
Why it matters: In an interview Friday morning with CNBC, Miran — who said he was sworn in just one hour before the Fed's two-day policy meeting began — said his decision was a result of "independent analysis," not politics.
- Miran said President Trump called him on Tuesday before the policy meeting began, though he said that he did not talk to the president about how he would vote.
- He also said it was not the Fed's job to slash interest rates to brighten the nation's fiscal situation — a key argument Trump has pushed in his calls for rate cuts.
What they're saying: Miran said he was less concerned about inflation, because strong immigration in recent years has contributed to booming housing prices.
- "If you add millions of new immigrants into a country in a short period of time, it's going to drive shelter prices up," Miran said.
- "Then if you close that border and then you have negative net migration ... that's going to have a very disinflationary effect," he added.
- "I'm clearly in the minority in not being concerned about inflation from tariffs," he said.
The intrigue: Fed chair Jerome Powell said there was not widespread support for a half-percentage point cut.
- "I'll be making the argument in coming weeks and months — and I hope that I'll be able to persuade some of my colleagues as we go along," Miran said.
- Asked about any awkwardness with Fed governor Lisa Cook, whom the White House is seeking to fire, Miran said: "Everybody was extremely welcoming and extremely cordial ... and that includes governor Cook."
What to watch: Miran said he plans to offer a "full accounting" of his economic views during a speech at The Economic Club of New York on Monday.
