House Speaker Nancy Pelosi offered up a scathing critique of President Donald Trump’s latest picks for the Fed board, calling Herman Cain and Stephen Moore unqualified and dangerous, and “the worst, ill-suited appointments the president could come up with.”
Cain and Moore have been somewhat of a pinata for Democrats and some economists since earning Trump’s nomination.
Vice President Mike Pence in an interview with CNBC said Cain, a businessman, and Moore, an economic commentator, share Trump’s economic philosophy and desire for low interest rates. Pelosi questioned whether that means the administration intends to meddle in the Fed’s decisions.
Just last week Trump called on the Fed again to cut interest rates and resume quantitative easing.
“The Fed should be determining the rates, not any politicians,” Pelosi said. “That is a dangerous thing for an economy, when a central bank of the country has political influence. It’s wrong.”
Trump has yet to submit paperwork to get Cain and Moore nominated officially, and Democratic Caucus Chair Hakeem Jeffries predicted the White House would eventually withdraw the nominations.
“It’s not clear to me whether that’s reality or a Saturday Night Live skit,” Jeffries told reporters at a recent retreat. “It’s an embarrassment.”
Pelosi praised current Fed Chair Jerome Powell for “not being a political person in any way.”
“Thank God Chairman Powell is there,” she said. “But for him to have to deal with a politically motivated Fed … there are so many bridges too far. But this is a really dangerous one.”
Cain, a former presidential candidate, and Moore also have their fair share of supporters.
“I think some of the old-school thinking and some of the old econometric models in the central bank could use a little fresh air, a little different opinion,” Kudlow said.