Stephen Miran told the Senate he will take unpaid leave from the White House if confirmed to the Fed

Stephen Miran told the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday that he will take unpaid leave from his current role as chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisors if confirmed to the Federal Reserve Board, but he won’t quit the job entirely.

He made that clear in his first confirmation hearing since Donald Trump nominated him to replace Adriana Kugler, who left her Fed seat in early August without warning.

According to the official Senate transcript, Stephen’s term will last until January 31, 2026, unless Trump pushes for a longer-term nomination. When asked why he wasn’t resigning outright:

“I have been advised by counsel that the legal approach is to take an unpaid leave of absence from the Council of Economic Advisors, cease my activities and if counsel advises me otherwise, I will follow the law and follow counsel’s advice.”

He later added, “The term for which I’ve been nominated is four and a half months. If I am nominated and confirmed for a longer term than just a handful of months, I would absolutely resign.”

The dual-role setup has triggered warnings about the independence of the Fed, especially with Trump now fully back in the White House and actively reshaping monetary leadership.

Stephen pushes back on White House control rumors

Stephen’s already been trying to convince Trump to install a “shadow chair” at the Fed.

But Stephen pushed back, telling the committee no one in the Trump administration had ever asked him, formally or informally, to vote a certain way on monetary policy.

New Jersey Democrat Andy Kim asked, “Has anyone in the administration asked you to commit, formally or informally, to vote to lower interest rates?” Stephen responded with one word: “No.”

He repeated that claim throughout the hearing. “I will always be happy to hear the opinions on monetary policy from everyone that has got an opinion so that I can help evaluate whether my position is actually the correct position and whether I really should be believing in things that I believe — and that would include allowing the president to lobby,” he said.

He clarified again: “The president is entitled to a view on appropriate monetary policy, as is everyone else interested in the subject.”

That didn’t do much to silence critics who pointed to his continuing White House ties as a possible backdoor influence. Stephen said his legal team advised that staying on leave was compliant, but if a longer-term nomination came down, he’d step away completely.

Senators test Stephen on market reaction and personal ethics

Virginia Democrat Mark Warner asked Stephen if he believed bond markets would react negatively to signs that the Fed was becoming more political. “I don’t anticipate the bond market saying that,” Stephen said, adding, “It is impossible to respond to a hypothetical.”

The topic changed when Ohio Republican Bernie Moreno brought up the recent controversy around Fed governor Lisa Cook. Trump had announced plans to fire Cook over mortgage fraud allegations, which she’s denied. Moreno used that moment to ask Stephen a direct personal question.

“Have you ever applied on a mortgage application with the objective of getting a lower interest rate?” Moreno asked.

“I had never done that,” Stephen answered.

“You’re already in the game, then. That’s good news,” Moreno replied, turning back to the chair. “It seems like what we’re talking about here, Mr. Chairman, is restoring the independence of the Fed.”

Stephen’s potential first vote as governor would come during the Federal Reserve’s next meeting on September 16–17, just weeks from now.

Whether lawmakers believe that or not remains to be seen.

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