April 30, 2019 — Of the two men whom Donald Trump had intended to nominate to empty seats on the Federal Reserve Board, Herman Cain has now withdrawn his name. This leaves the other one, Stephen Moore.
The Senate would have to decide whether to confirm Moore. He has some problems roughly analogous to Cain’s: he is considered to be under an ethical cloud and he often gets his economic facts wrong. Cynics might respond that he would thereby fit right in with the roster of Trump nominees throughout the government. But Trump’s earlier appointments to the Fed have been people of ability and integrity and have been doing a good job, Chair Jerome Powell in particular. Perhaps Trump did not start paying attention to Fed appointments until recently.