The White House announcement the appointment of two people to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, positions that will give them the power to direct monetary policy and influence the direction of mortgage lending rates.
Christopher Waller, Research Director at Federal Reserve Bank of Saint-Louis and a former professor at the University of Notre Dame, will likely be easy confirmation for one of the two seven-member board seats that have been vacant for over a year.
Judy Shelton, advisor to President Donald Trump, could be more controversial. It is a criticism of the Fed for a return to the gold standard, a policy that the United States abandoned in 1971.
“The only question I would have for her is if she really kisses a gold standard – that would concern me,” Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) told Politico.
Shelton was also seen by some as a Trump sycophant because she sharply criticized the Fed for keeping rates close to zero under the Obama administration, but became a low rate accelerator when Trump called for deep cuts in 2019.
Trump announced via tweet on July 2 that he planned to name Shelton and Waller. Seven days later, Shelton resigned his post as US envoy to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, citing his pending appointment as the reason. Waller continued to work at the St. Louis Fed.
While Trump often makes personnel announcements via tweet, the release of the names by the White House on Thursday is the first step in sending them to the US Senate be confirmed.
Shelton and Waller are replacing two previous appointments made by Trump for seats that have proven to be controversial. The two previous candidates withdrew after it became clear that they would not be approved by the Senate.
Herman Cain, a former Republican presidential candidate, and Stephen Moore, writer and television commentator, both saw their prospects for confirmation crumble in 2019 as evidence emerged that questioned their attitudes towards women.