White House is said to ask economist Paul Winfree about Fed job

The White House asked former domestic policy adviser Paul Winfree if he was interested in joining the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, according to one person familiar with the matter.

Fed building
Flags fly on top of the Marriner S. Eccles Federal Reserve Board building in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2010. The Federal Reserve, under orders from Congress, plans today to identify recipients of $3.3 trillion in emergency aid the central bank provided as it fought the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. Photographer: Joshua Roberts/Bloomberg
Joshua Roberts/Bloomberg

Winfree, who was deputy director of President Donald Trump’s domestic policy council until January 2018, has expressed interest in the job, the person said, requesting anonymity to discuss the matter. The White House reached out to Winfree a few weeks ago, the person said, before businessman Herman Cain and economist Stephen Moore withdrew from consideration for the two open seats on the Fed board.

Winfree currently oversees economic policy studies at the Heritage Foundation, a Washington-based conservative think tank. A White House spokesman did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Wall Street Journal reported his consideration on Friday.

Trump has struggled to fill the two open seats on the Fed board. Last year, he formally nominated economists Marvin Goodfriend and Nellie Liang, who eventually withdrew from consideration. Cain and Moore dropped out in the past month before their nominations reached the Senate.

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