Economist Stephen Moore withdrew Thursday as the president’s nominee for the Federal Reserve Board, citing a sustained political attack on him.
Moore, a visiting fellow at The Heritage Foundation, is a former economics writer for The Wall Street Journal who previously was president of the pro-business Club for Growth.
President Donald Trump announced March 22 that he planned to nominate Moore to the Fed, which sets monetary policy. This prompted an immediate outcry from the left.
In a letter Thursday to Trump, Moore, 59, wrote that he wished to withdraw from consideration.
“Your confidence in me makes what I am about to say much harder. I am respectfully asking that you withdraw my name from consideration,” Moore wrote to the president. “The unrelenting attacks on my character have become untenable for me and my family and 3 more months of this would be too hard on us.”
This marks the second Trump nominee to the Fed to drop his bid under partisan fire, following the withdrawal April 22 of Herman Cain, the former CEO of Godfather’s Pizza and former chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, Missouri. Cain, 73, was a Republican candidate for president in 2012.
Late last year, Moore and economist Arthur Laffer released their latest book, “Trumponomics: Inside the America First Plan to Revive Our Economy.”
Moore began his letter to Trump by making a reference to that title.
“I was honored and grateful that you asked me to serve on the Federal Reserve Board,” Moore wrote, adding:
Your economic policies have been a spectacular success for American workers. Record low unemployment, 3.2% growth, seven million job openings, and a near 40% rise in the stock market with five quarters now of 3% economic growth, something your critics said could never happen. Trumponomics has been VINDICATED.
A CNN poll released Thursday showed 56% of those surveyed approved of Trump’s handling of the economy.
Moore said he would continue to advocate pro-growth policies, writing:
As you know, for the last four years nearly since the start of your campaign for president, I have been an advocate of your economic agenda and am proud to have played a small role in helping make that happen. I will continue to be a loud economic voice advocating for your policies, which will keep us on a prosperous path of 3 to 4% growth with rising wages and low inflation for as far as the eye can see. I am always at your disposal.