Steve Moore: Trump's Federal Reserve pick who made controversial comments about women withdraws

Mr Moore appears to not have known his withdrawal was coming

(Getty Images)

Stephen Moore is out as Donald Trump’s pick to join the Federal Reserve. In a tweet sent on Thursday, the president said Mr Moore had “decided to withdraw from the Fed process.”

Following Herman Cain’s withdrawal, this is the second would-be nomination from the president in a week to fall apart.

“Steve won the battle of ideas including Tax Cuts... and deregulation which have produced non-inflationary prosperity for all Americans,” the president’s tweets continued. “I’ve asked Steve to work with me toward future economic growth in our Country.”

Mr Trump began asserting Mr Moore as his nomination to join the Fed a few weeks ago, to the surprise of Mr Moore himself, who told Bloomberg that monetary policy, which the Fed oversees, was not his expertise.

“I’m kind of new to this game, frankly, so I’m going to be on a steep learning curve myself about how the Fed operates, how the Federal Reserve makes its decisions,” Mr Moore told Bloomberg. “It’s hard for me to say even what my role will be there, assuming I get confirmed.”

Support for the economist, who is a vocal supporter of the president and often appears on television to say so, was swiftly undercut by Republican senators and prominent voices in a rare departure from the usual GOP alignment with Mr Trump’s policy and proposals. Many questioned Mr Moore’s qualifications, as well as his open loyalty to Mr Trump, which is at odds with the Fed’s traditionally separate role from the White House. His personal finances also came under fire.

Mr Moore's history of controversial views on women were also a wrench in his nomination. In particular, three women of the GOP-controlled Senate expressed concern over Mr Moore’s past columns for the Wall Street Journal, which were consistently misogynist. As recently as 2014, he wondered in said columns whether women making more money than men would cause “unrest in society.” He also held a strong fixation on women’s sports, which he called “inferior.”

In 2018, Mr Moore published a book, co-authored with former Reagan advisor Arthur B. Laffer, called Trumponomics: Inside the America First Plan to Revive Our Economy. At the time of his nomination, Mr Moore’s cover photo on Twitter featured a photo of the book with a blurb from President Trump, which read “An incredible book on my economic policies.”

In comments to the Washington Post, Trump donors said Mr Moore was open about his loyalty to Mr Trump throughout his would-be nomination process, going so far as to present powerpoint presentations to donors detailing his support for the president.

Mr Trump has also been open about his attempt to re-work the role of the Fed, expressing disdain over Chairman Jerome Powell, whom he appointed. He has pushed for policies that would allow for an easier re-election, as the economy continues to grow during his first term.

Mr Moore has yet to comment on his withdrawal. Just 35 minutes before President’s Trump tweet, Mr Moore told a reporter that he fully expected to be confirmed.