Fed governor to resign, giving Trump a vacancy
By: Bailey Schulz
USA Today
..... Adriana Kugher is steeping down from the Federal reserve board, giving President Donald Trump the chance to appoint an early replacement amid his months-long campaign to badger the central bank's officials into glowing interest rates.
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The announcement came just two days after the Fed said it would hold its key interest rate steady, despite mounting pressure from Trump to trim rats. Two Trump-appointed board members in favor of lower rates, Michelle Bowmen and and Christopher Waller, dissented from the decision. Kurgler was absent from the vote.
..... Kugler's resignation gives Trump an opportunity to at least partially shape the Fed's makeup to his liking ahead of her original departure date. Kugler, a governor appointed by former President Joe Biden, joined the seven-member board in 2023 and was set to serve through January 2026.
..... She didn't offer a reason for her August 8 [2025] departure. A statement from the Fed said she would return to Georgetown University as a professor this fall. [2025]
..... In a letter to Trump, Kugler said it has been the "honor of a lifetime" to serve on the Fed's Board of Governors.
..... "I am especially honored to have served during a critical time in achieving our dual mandate of bringing down prices and keeping a strong and resilient labor market," Kugler said. "The Federal reserve does important work to help foster a healthy economy and it has been a privilege to work towards that goal on behalf of all Americans for nearly two years.
..... A Reuters report noted Kugler's term as a governor presented challenges for the board as it aggressively sought to tame high inflation pressures by raising interest rates. While that tactic drew Trump's ire, inflation has moved closer to the central bank's goal of 2%.
..... In a July 30 [2025] note, Bill Adams, chief economist for Comerica Bank, noted that Trump may use Kugler's opening to appoint his pick for Fed Chair Jerome Powell's replacement.
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Powell was appointed by Trump in 2017, and his term as Fed Chair ends in May 2026. The president, who has recently backed away from threats to fire Powell, has made clear that he's unhappy with the Fed's decision to hold off on rate cuts. In June, [2025] Trump said he's hunting for a new Fed chair and has narrowed his search to "three or four people."
..... Adams said Trump's next pick for chair could be a current Federal Open Market Committee member or an external hire.
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"Perhaps the next Chair will have a different approach to monetary policy that Powell, but it's hard to say - recall that Powell himself is a Trump appointee," Adams wrote on July 30, [2025] before Kugler announced her resignation. "In any case, the fed same likely to cut interest rates between now and when Powell's term ends, which would make the transition feel less fraught."
..... There are a number of factors involved in the process of filling Kugler's position that make it difficult to predict how the president will approach the task, Reuters reported. Derek Tang, an analyst at research firm LH Meyer, said with the Senate not in session to confirm a new member of the Board of Governors, Trump could opt to fill the roll temporarily with a recess appointment.
..... Contributing: Reuters