The White House’s chief economist raised questions Wednesday whether President Donald Trump would go ahead and nominate Stephen Moore to the Federal Reserve board after the conservative pundit made controversial comments about central bank policy.
While he said that Trump continues to appoint “great folks” to the Fed, Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Kevin Hassett indicated in an interview on CNBC that Moore’s nomination isn’t a sure thing. Hassett was responding to questions about Moore’s comment that the Fed should cut interest rates by 50 basis points.
“I think that as the process moves forward, if Steve ends up being the nominee, that he’ll have good explanations for his positions,” Hassett said. “I think that you’re right that he’s gone through his career being a pundit and having really interesting things to say about a whole range of topics, but as a nominee that you have to be more careful about every little word that you utter.”
“I’m sure that he’s going to start pulling back his op-eds and preparing for confirmation, should that arise,” he said.
Unlike Hassett, Trump was unambiguous in his support for Moore on Friday when he tweeted that the economist would be his latest nominee to the Fed board. “I have known Steve for a long time — and have no doubt he will be an outstanding choice,” Trump wrote.
But the president hasn’t formally tapped Moore, whose selection to the seven-member board would require Senate approval.
