Stephen Milan, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors, US President Donald Trump, the US presidential candidate, will arrive at a confirmation hearing of the Senate Bank, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee in Washington, D.C. on Thursday, September 4, 2025.
Daniel Hoar | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Newly confirmed Federal Reserve Governor Stephen Milan opposed the central bank’s decision to cut the federal funding rate by a quarter percentage point on Wednesday, opting to seek a half point cut instead.
Milan, confirmed to the Fed president by the Senate on Monday, was the only opponent of a statement from the Federal Open Market Committee.
Gov. Michelle Bowman and Christopher Waller had opposed the Fed’s previous meeting in favor of a quarter-point move, this time alongside Merritt Chairman Jerome Powell and the rest of the chairman.
“It’s interesting that Wall and Bowman stuck to Consensus – despite auditioning for the Fed Chair job, the newest member, Miran, jumped over them with an even more 50 bps dissent.” “They are interested in reducing 25 bps, but don’t feel the need for a Draconia cut.
Milan also hopes the Fed will be much lower this year than other Fed governors who only see two more cuts in 2025.
The diagram below shows the so-called dots of the year for vote Fed members. Because dots are anonymous, Milan assumes that it is a one rate forecast that is much lower than the rest of the group this year. They also added dots where President Donald Trump said he wanted the Fed rate. He wants a 2-3 percentage points lower rate.
The Fed’s dot plot also shows an unusually large disagreement among FOMC participants regarding the number of rate cuts in 2026, with some members seeing four cuts.
Milan was chosen as Trump in August and filled his seat after former governor Adriana Kugler announced his sudden resignation without giving such a reason. He says he will take unpaid leave as chairman of the White House Economic Advisors Council, rather than resigning from his position altogether.
Milan’s duties committee, which continues until Coogler’s term ends on January 31, 2026, has been viewed by critics as a threat to the Fed’s independence from Trump as the president nominated three of its seven members.
Trump also said in August that he fired Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook. However, a federal appeals court ruled earlier this week that he could not fire her. The White House said it intends to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court.
