By Andrea Shalal and Ryan Patrick Jones
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Tuesday said he was hopeful the Senate would confirm Stephen Miran, now chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, to fill a temporary vacancy on the Federal Reserve board before its next meeting in September.
Speaking to Fox Business Network's "Kudlow," Bessent said Miran's appointment could lay the groundwork for a big interest rate cut at that meeting, given a major downward revision in jobs data
released last week and favorable inflation data on Tuesday.
"I'm sure we'll come back and talk about poor quality of data ... if they could have been cutting in June, July," Bessent said. "So I think the real thing now to think about is, should we get a 50 basis point rate cut in September to make up for the delay?"
U.S. President Donald Trump last week said he would nominate Miran to fill the seat on the Fed's board of governors vacated on Friday by Adriana Kugler, an appointee of former President Joseph Biden.
Miran must be approved by the Senate and would serve until January 31.
Bessent said Trump could nominate Miran to serve a full term after his temporary appointment but was also looking at other candidates. Trump was casting a wide net and keeping a very open mind, even considering former Fed Chair Janet Yellen, he said.
"We want to see what everyone's thinking. It's not ideological. It's about economics, what's best for the American people; what's best for the economy," Bessent said, adding that he thought Miran was "thoughtful, methodical and has a lot to say about the Fed."
The Treasury secretary noted that Trump would also have to appoint a new chair to succeed Jerome Powell, whose term ends in May 2026.
Trump has repeatedly demanded Powell lower interest rates, called on him to resign and suggested the Fed chair mismanaged a major renovation at the central bank.
Bessent, a former hedge fund manager, said he was speaking with potential Fed candidates about monetary policy, regulatory policy and Fed operations, saying the central bank faces "foundational" problems.
"It's gotten really bloated. And I think that this bloat puts its independence at risk," he said.
Trump last week fired the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics after the agency sharply revised downward its estimates of U.S. payroll gains in May and June.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal and Ryan Jones; Editing by Chris Reese and Cynthia Osterman)
