Fed Intrigue: Miran Nominated to Fed Board; Dark Horse Emerges to Replace Powell; Fed Officials Talking Rate Cuts Soon
Washington rumor mill is in overdrive, gaming the Fed Chair succession. Stephen Miran, chair of the Council of Economic Advisors, has just been nominated to serve as a Fed Governor, filling the seat vacated by Fed Gov. Adriana Kugler after a surprising early resignation. The administration has made it clear that this is a “caretaker” nomination; he will most likely serve until Kugler’s term ends in January 2026. Then they will nominate the intended Powell successor, who will serve as Governor and most likely act as a “shadow chair” (advocating for lower rates) until May 2026, when he or she would become the new Fed Chair. Note that Powell can remain on the Board of Governors until January 2028.
Who’s in play to be next Fed Chair? Treasury Secretary Bessent has removed himself from consideration (he could have served in both roles, although that would be unprecedented). The leading candidates were assumed to be the “Kevins”: Kevin Hassett of the Council of Economic Advisors or Kevin Warsh, a former Fed Governor. But over the past 48 hours, a dark horse is now considered the favorite: Fed Governor Christopher Waller, appointed during the President’s first term. He and Fed Gov. Michelle Bowman both dissented at last week’s Fed meeting “pause,” advocating for a cut, something not seen for 30 years. Waller seems to be the one to watch, as he may become a “shadow Fed Chair” during Powell’s remaining term. Speaking of Fed Governors, consensus is building around a now “locked-in’ rate cut in September. Comments this week include the following from Mary Daly: “Clarity may never come, and we can’t wait to act…and I would see additional slowing as unwelcome.” That is a near-exact quote from Powell last year, just before a rate cut. The “market telegraph” is back in operation! Neel Kashkari said: “The economy is slowing…In the near term, it may become appropriate to start adjusting the federal funds rate…what are the ultimate effects of tariffs going to be on inflation? — and what I’m realizing is we may not know the answer to that for quarters, or a year, or more.” By the way, the tariff policies started yesterday at midnight, August 7th.
Everything up to now has been “prologue,” and the effects will take several months to understand (market participants have remained bullish; see Annie Lai’s comments above). The average effective tariff rate rose from 2.4% in early January 2025 to 18.6% as of today, the highest level since 1933.
Treasuries: The 10-year Treasury dropped to 4.19% (down 15 bps) last Friday on a much-discussed jobs report containing massive revisions to previous months, creating controversy and leading to the firing of the BLS head. This week the 10-year Treasury yields rose, with Wednesday’s auction of new 10-year notes seeing weak demand. Strategists at RBC Capital characterized the auction results as “soft,” with non-dealers of Treasury debt taking somewhat less than the recent average, while the bid-to-cover ratio — a measure of investor demand — dropped to 2.35x from a recent average of 2.51x. The rate now sits at 4.29%. Stay tuned…
By David R. Pascale, Jr., Senior Director at George Smith Partners.
