Trump economic adviser Miran gets Senate nod to join Fed board

By David Morgan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Senate on Monday narrowly confirmed Stephen Miran to the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors, expanding President Donald Trump’s influence over the world’s most important central bank and handing his top economic adviser one of 12 interest-rate-setting votes on the eve of a key policy meeting.

The 48-47, largely party-line vote in the Republican-controlled Senate on Monday marked the final step of a swift process that began in August when Adriana Kugler resigned unexpectedly as a Fed governor, creating an opening on the seven-member Fed board for Trump to fill with someone more amenable to lowering interest rates, as the president has demanded for all year.

It typically takes months for a Fed governor nominee to be confirmed by the Senate;