Federal Reserve mouthpiece: Trump plans to nominate Milan to the Federal Reserve, challenging the consensus on tariff inflation

Nick Timiraos: President Trump's plan to nominate Stephen Millan, an economic adviser, to the Fed's board would add a voice within the central bank that explicitly questions conventional wisdom, particularly about how tariffs affect inflation and economic growth. Many Fed officials worry that tariffs will weaken the economy while pushing up prices, leaving the central bank in a dilemma: whether to cut interest rates to support the economy or keep them on hold to control inflation. Mr. Millan argues that such concerns put the cart before the horse - that the economy would benefit from tariffs without significantly affecting prices, allowing the Fed to resume the rate-cutting process it suspended at the start of the year. The question is whether his arguments are persuasive enough to influence broader committee decision-making - or perhaps they may not even be useful if fears of a weak job market prompt Fed officials to resume rate cuts.