By Paul Kiernan, Kristina Peterson and Siobhan Hughes
WASHINGTON -- President Trump's most recent pick for the Federal
Reserve Board of Governors, Herman Cain, suggested criticism of his
potential candidacy was based on his political views, calling it
"absolutely silly, ridiculous."
"Because I ran as a Republican for president and the United
States Senate, and because I am an outspoken voice of conservatism,
an outspoken voice of the Constitution and the laws, I'm being
attacked," Mr. Cain said in a video posted to his Facebook page
Monday night. "And because President Donald J. Trump happens to
value my words and our friendship. So I'm going to be
attacked."
Mr. Trump surprised his advisers Thursday by announcing that the
former pizza executive was "the man" for a Fed job.
Mr. Trump also said last month he intends to nominate former
campaign adviser and conservative economic commentator Stephen
Moore for one of the seven-seat Fed board's two vacancies.
Mr. Trump's announcements on Messrs. Cain and Moore broke with
decades of precedent by coming before the background checks that
typically precede formal nominations to the Senate for
confirmation. That has triggered heavy public scrutiny of both.
The two potential nominees also have departed from the
traditional rulebook by speaking frequently in public since the
president's named them: Mr. Cain has spoken in several videos
posted to Facebook and Mr. Moore has given several radio
interviews. Typically, presidential nominees are vetted before the
formal White House announcement, after which they might welcome the
honor of being nominated and then refrain from public comment until
their Senate confirmation hearings.
Both have continued to actively tout Mr. Trump's policies and
offer their thoughts on the U.S. economy. Mr. Moore, in a
conservative talk-radio show Monday, predicted that Mr. Trump will
win re-election "in an overwhelming landslide" if the economy
remains strong through 2020. He then hinted at the policies he
would pursue at the Fed to ensure that happens.
"We need to make sure that the Fed isn't pulling the money
supply out of the economy, and I'm a little nervous about that,"
Mr. Moore said. "In my opinion the Fed has been a little too tight
on money, and that has slowed down the economy a little bit."
As Fed governors, Messrs. Cain and Moore would hold two of 12
votes on interest-rate decisions, a key factor in determining the
economic and financial fates of millions of Americans.
Mr. Cain, in his Monday video, didn't say which criticisms of
his Fed candidacy he was referring to. In a video posted Friday, he
referred to "accusers," an apparent reference to sexual-harassment
accusations that caused him to drop his presidential campaign in
late 2011.
After surging in the polls ahead of 2012 Republican primaries,
Mr. Cain's candidacy imploded two months before the Iowa caucus as
multiple women accused him of sexual harassment during his tenure
as head of the National Restaurant Association during the 1990s.
The accusations resulted in settlements paid by the trade
group.
He denied the accusations at the time, in 2011, and said in the
Friday video he would "be able to explain it this time where they
wouldn't let me explain it the last time. They were too busy
believing the accusers."
Another source of criticism has focused on his qualifications
for a Fed board post.
Mr. Cain was a successful businessman in the 1980s and 1990s,
and he served in the 1990s as a board member for the Kansas City
Fed. While Kansas City Fed board members don't vote on monetary
policy, they participate heavily in the selection of the president
of the regional Fed bank.
But some analysts have said his more recent activities as a
conservative political commentator and enthusiastic supporter of
Mr. Trump could undermine the Fed's independence from political
pressure. Mr. Cain has also at times espoused views that would put
him at the fringes of mainstream economic thought, such as
advocating a return to the gold standard and questioning government
unemployment data.
In videos posted to his Facebook page last week, Mr. Cain
confused one of the most important economic indicators tracked by
the Fed--the monthly employment report produced by the Bureau of
Labor Statistics -- with a less comprehensive measure of
private-sector hiring compiled by payrolls processor Automatic Data
Processing Inc.
Since dropping his 2011 presidential campaign, Mr. Cain has
hosted a conservative radio show, given paid speeches and, most
recently, produced nightly Facebook videos in which he blasts
liberals and praises Mr. Trump's policies.
In the Senate, some GOP aides and members expressed skepticism
that the White House would formally nominate Mr. Cain for the Fed
board, given all the known baggage in his past. Even if he is
nominated, it would be months until his confirmation would come to
the Senate floor.
Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, a member of Senate GOP leadership,
when asked about Mr. Cain, noted his Kansas City Fed experience,
but said, "We need to be careful about politicizing the Federal
Reserve." He added: "Every president always tries to put pressure
on the Federal Reserve to loosen up the money supply, but they
should maintain some independence so they can maintain some
stability there and make sure it's not political."
Sen. David Perdue (R., Ga.) on Tuesday rejected
characterizations of Mr. Cain as a political appointee, saying,
"The man's been on the Kansas City board out there; he's got
experience, He's a business guy. I think he's a great choice."
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R., Iowa), when asked whether he would
support Mr. Cain for a Fed job, said, "I don't have any reason not
to, but I never make up my mind until after the hearing." He added,
"I do think he brings some things to it that haven't been there,
having been associated so long as he was with the Kansas City
Fed."
Write to Paul Kiernan at paul.kiernan@wsj.com, Kristina Peterson
at kristina.peterson@wsj.com and Siobhan Hughes at
siobhan.hughes@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 09, 2019 13:24 ET (17:24 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.