Trump’s Economic Team in Turmoil as Miran Makes Dramatic Exit

Paul Riverbank, 2/4/2026Stephen Miran’s exit highlights White House economic upheaval amid Fed leadership turmoil and uncertainty.

For context, it’s worth remembering just how unusual Miran’s situation has been. Most economic officials, upon being nominated to the Federal Reserve Board, waste no time leaving their White House posts. Miran, who held the controversial distinction of having served as President Trump’s top economist, chose instead to split his time—at least officially—taking unpaid leave when Trump tapped him for the Fed. For some, this broke with decades-old traditions. Back in the day, you swapped offices, shook hands, and never looked back.

Miran’s stint at the Federal Reserve was loosely tethered to the tenure of Adriana Kugler, whose departure early last autumn set certain dominoes in motion. His term, aligned with hers, was due to expire at the end of January. Anyone acquainted with the rules—written and unwritten—knew the options were limited: either step back from the White House in earnest, or wrap up business at the Fed, pronto. Miran had gone on record with the Senate, making plain he’d choose to honor that commitment. This week, he followed through.

His resignation letter, now circulating among reporters and staffers alike, was almost spare in its language, but carried the unmistakable cadence of a man keen to be taken at his word. “While I took an unpaid leave of absence from the Council to come to the Federal Reserve, I promised the Senate that if I should stay on the Board past January, I would formally depart the Council,” he wrote. “I believe it is important to stay true to my word while I continue to perform the job at the Federal Reserve to which you and the Senate appointed me.”

Quiet as the words may have sounded, their message traveled quickly. White House spokesman Kush Desai wasted little time sending a statement to newsrooms: “In accordance with the pledge he made to the Senate during his confirmation to the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors, Stephen Miran has submitted his resignation from the Council of Economic Advisers.” Desai didn’t miss the chance to sprinkle in some praise, either, calling Miran’s advocacy “brilliant” and an asset to the president—a departure from the usual bureaucratic sendoff, and with a whiff of reflection in the phrasing.

All this comes as the Trump administration’s economic crew faces a new bout of reshuffling. The timing is no footnote. President Trump is pushing forward with his nomination of Kevin Warsh—an alumnus of the Fed’s upper echelons—as his choice to succeed Jerome Powell as chairman. But nothing in Washington, least of all the fate of the country’s top money-minder, goes off without a hitch. Powell, facing a federal criminal probe over how building renovations at the Fed’s headquarters were handled and disclosed, finds himself squarely in the crosshairs of congressional investigators. There’s a real possibility Powell remains as a regular Fed governor, but the process for his replacement is muddying by the week.

Warsh’s own path is no sure thing, either. Senator Thom Tillis, who has a seat and a sizable say on the Senate Banking Committee, has publicly signaled his opposition to any new Fed nominees until the Powell inquiry is finished—a political logjam with few easy answers. How long Warsh’s nomination may linger is anyone’s guess, though few in town expect a stealthy resolution.

Stephen Miran, then, will keep his chair on the Fed’s Board until the next appointee is ready to step in, as the law permits. His exit leaves the president’s economic brain trust in familiar territory: coping with churn, watching for opportunity, and digesting an era where order and unpredictability coexist in a kind of uneasy duet. Regardless of where Miran heads next, his reputation for blunt honesty and a measured approach will linger, remembered by those who watched him manage two mighty institutions at once—a feat neither glamorous nor simple, but, according to colleagues from both camps, handled with a rare steadiness. In today’s Washington, that alone is newsworthy.

It’s not every day that one of Washington’s prominent economic minds steps twice across the city’s most guarded thresholds. But this week, Stephen Miran did just that, in a move that capped months of speculation—inside the Beltway and out. His departure from the White House Council of Economic Advisers, after an extended balancing act with the Federal Reserve, landed with a certain weight among insiders who watched his dual role with something between fascination and unease.For context, it’s worth remembering just how unusual Miran’s situation has been. Most economic officials, upon being nominated to the Federal Reserve Board, waste no time leaving their White House posts. Miran, who held the controversial distinction of having served as President Trump’s top economist, chose instead to split his time—at least officially—taking unpaid leave when Trump tapped him for the Fed. For some, this broke with decades-old traditions. Back in the day, you swapped offices, shook hands, and never looked back.Miran’s stint at the Federal Reserve was loosely tethered to the tenure of Adriana Kugler, whose departure early last autumn set certain dominoes in motion. His term, aligned with hers, was due to expire at the end of January. Anyone acquainted with the rules—written and unwritten—knew the options were limited: either step back from the White House in earnest, or wrap up business at the Fed, pronto. Miran had gone on record with the Senate, making plain he’d choose to honor that commitment. This week, he followed through.His resignation letter, now circulating among reporters and staffers alike, was almost spare in its language, but carried the unmistakable cadence of a man keen to be taken at his word. “While I took an unpaid leave of absence from the Council to come to the Federal Reserve, I promised the Senate that if I should stay on the Board past January, I would formally depart the Council,” he wrote. “I believe it is important to stay true to my word while I continue to perform the job at the Federal Reserve to which you and the Senate appointed me.”Quiet as the words may have sounded, their message traveled quickly. White House spokesman Kush Desai wasted little time sending a statement to newsrooms: “In accordance with the pledge he made to the Senate during his confirmation to the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors, Stephen Miran has submitted his resignation from the Council of Economic Advisers.” Desai didn’t miss the chance to sprinkle in some praise, either, calling Miran’s advocacy “brilliant” and an asset to the president—a departure from the usual bureaucratic sendoff, and with a whiff of reflection in the phrasing.All this comes as the Trump administration’s economic crew faces a new bout of reshuffling. The timing is no footnote. President Trump is pushing forward with his nomination of Kevin Warsh—an alumnus of the Fed’s upper echelons—as his choice to succeed Jerome Powell as chairman. But nothing in Washington, least of all the fate of the country’s top money-minder, goes off without a hitch. Powell, facing a federal criminal probe over how building renovations at the Fed’s headquarters were handled and disclosed, finds himself squarely in the crosshairs of congressional investigators. There’s a real possibility Powell remains as a regular Fed governor, but the process for his replacement is muddying by the week.Warsh’s own path is no sure thing, either. Senator Thom Tillis, who has a seat and a sizable say on the Senate Banking Committee, has publicly signaled his opposition to any new Fed nominees until the Powell inquiry is finished—a political logjam with few easy answers. How long Warsh’s nomination may linger is anyone’s guess, though few in town expect a stealthy resolution.Stephen Miran, then, will keep his chair on the Fed’s Board until the next appointee is ready to step in, as the law permits. His exit leaves the president’s economic brain trust in familiar territory: coping with churn, watching for opportunity, and digesting an era where order and unpredictability coexist in a kind of uneasy duet. Regardless of where Miran heads next, his reputation for blunt honesty and a measured approach will linger, remembered by those who watched him manage two mighty institutions at once—a feat neither glamorous nor simple, but, according to colleagues from both camps, handled with a rare steadiness. In today’s Washington, that alone is newsworthy.