The resignation of a governor leaves Trump margin of maneuver in the Federal Reserve | International

Fund in the Federal Reserve, the US Central Bank. Not only because of the pressures of President Donald Trump to lower interest rates, or by the continuous disqualification of its president, Jerome Powell, which has become the preferred black beast of the president. This Friday, the Fed has announced that economist Adriana Kugler will leave her position as a member of the Board of Governors, which opens the possibility that Trump nomine to a substitute for her taste for the entity that decides and fixes interest rates.

In fact, the president has not missed the occasion to show his satisfaction because there is a free place in the Fed and, without evidence, he has assured that Kugler renounces disagreements with his party, the Democrat.

Kugler did not attend the meeting of the Federal Committee of the Open Market (FOMC) of the Fed, which was held this Tuesday and Wednesday and at the end of which Powell announced that there will be no changes in the price of money, in the range of 4.25% to 4.5% since December. That is, there was no reduction of types that Trump tries to force.

Kugler’s anticipated departure can alter the succession calendar around Powell, whose mandate ends in May 2026 if Trump does not end him before, as he has repeatedly threatened to say goodbye. The president could now designate an interim substitute for Kugler’s mandate, until the beginning of next year, although it corresponds to the Senate – where the Republicans have a meager majority – to confirm the officials of the Board of Governors.

The departure of Kugler, university professor and chief economist of the Department of Labor between 2011 and 2013, during the administration of Barack Obama, will become effective on August 8. “It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System,” says Kugler in the resignation letter presented to the Republican president. The governor, who has been part of the Fed Board since September 2023, will return in autumn to her position as a professor at the prestigious Georgetown University.

Kugler insists that he feels “especially honest” for being part of the Board in a “critical moment” in which the Central Bank strives to fulfill its double mandate to contain 2% inflation and “maintain a strong and resilient labor market”, that is, the objective of full employment. His resignation is known hours after the publication of Julio’s employment data, quite worse than expected, and that Trump, furious by the Employment Report, ordered the “immediate” dismissal of the head of the Office of Labor Statistics, which compiles the information, accusing it, without evidence, of manipulating the data to harm him politically.

Through a statement, Powell thanked “the service of Dr. Kugler at the Board and wish her much success in her future projects. He contributed an impressive experience and valuable academic perspectives in her work” in the Fed.

Trump has redoubled the pressure on Powell in recent days. In addition to presenting him as someone “too stupid and political” to hold the position, this Friday he has described as “stubborn idiot” and the eve, when the world contained the breath waiting for the final save of tariffs, he said of him that “he is a horrible president of the Fed. It was a mistake to name him.” It was Trump himself who appointed him in 2018.

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