On Tuesday, President Donald Trump nominated University of Minnesota economist Christopher Phelan to be the next chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, a role that includes conducting analyses of the economy and the administration’s policy agenda. The nomination was made ahead of any Senate confirmation process.
If confirmed, Phelan would take over from Stephen Miran, the economics official previously named to the council. Miran joined the Federal Reserve Board of Governors last September, leaving the council leadership post open for a new chair.
The Council’s vice chairman, Pierre Yared, has been serving as acting chairman since Trump shifted Miran to the Fed. Yared, who held that interim leadership role, is part of the council’s top tier as the administration prepares to install a permanent chairman.
The nomination comes with a stated emphasis on economic research and central-bank experience. The AP report said Phelan’s background suggests “a keen interest in the operations of central banks,” a major interest for Trump, who has pressed the Fed to sharply cut its benchmark interest rates to support stronger growth even as lower rates can raise concerns about inflation.
The report also described Phelan as a former consultant with the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis and noted his education, including his undergraduate degree from Duke University and a doctorate from the University of Chicago.
White House spokesman Kush Desai backed the nomination in a statement and said Trump had assembled what Desai called “the best and most experienced economic team in modern history.” Desai also said Phelan was “a key addition.”
Desai said that Yared, the current acting chairman, is returning to his professorship at Columbia University’s business school, indicating the acting leadership would end if the Senate confirms Phelan.