You know, see if it makes a difference.
As the last month has amply demonstrated, President Trump is still new to this whole governing thing. Learning on the job, as it were. Case in point: The Fed. Most presidents who’ve already had four people confirmed to the rate-setting Board of Governors, including the central bank’s chair, have figured out that instead of picking someone (preferably male) out of a hat or just scrawling the last name someone said onto a nomination form, it’s a good idea to get some sense of where a potential Fed nominee stands on things, and maybe even pick someone who believes in the same things you do. As Trump himself has made clear, he and the guy he made Fed chief don’t see eye-to-eye on some things, which is awkward.
But he’s learning, Larry Kudlow tells us! And he won’t be making a Jay Powell-sized mistake again. Assuming he ever gets around to nominating anyone.
“The White House wants highly capable competent people who understand that you can have strong economic growth without higher inflation,” Larry Kudlow, director of the National Economic Council, told reporters at the White House on Thursday. “It’s just that basic….”
“That’s our biggest criteria - people who understand that when the business side of the economy, when the supply side of the economy surges, we can do so with more people working, frankly at higher wages, and higher productivity and that’s what the data are showing, without causing higher inflation,” Kudlow said.
Kudlow said the board has “a couple open seats,” suggesting the White House won’t re-nominate economist Marvin Goodfriend.
Trump Wants Fed Nominees Who Think Like Trump, Kudlow Says [Bloomberg]