Stephen Miran, President Donald Trump’s pick to fill a vacant seat on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, said he was committed to central bank independence during a contentious confirmation hearing Thursday in Washington. But Miran, seen by Democrats as a Trump loyalist who will do the Republican president’s bidding regardless of economic imperatives, chose a unique way to illustrate that pledge. 

Miran told senators that he intends to hang on to his White House job while serving at the Fed, rather than resign it altogether, taking an unpaid leave of absence from the White House Council of Economic Advisers. “Your independence has already been seriously compromised by your statement—you are going to be technically an employee of the president of the United States but an independent member of the board of the Federal Reserve?” Democratic Senator Jack Reed said. “That’s ridiculous.”

Trump has said he wants the Fed to lower interest rates in the hopes of boosting a wavering US economy—especially given the steady drumbeat of data this week showing rising unemployment and shrinking manufacturing on his watch. But economists have worried he will compromise the central bank’s independence to get what he wants.

Democratic US Senator Elizabeth Warren also excoriated Miran when he refused to give a direct answer to her question of whether he thought Trump lost the 2020 election, an example, according to Warren, of his lack of independence. And last year, Miran wrote a paper detailing numerous proposals to overhaul the Fed, including ways to undercut its independence.

Still, Republicans on the panel showed no sign that any would oppose Miran, making his swift confirmation appear likely. He could be seated in time to attend the Sept. 16-17 meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee, the Fed’s rate-setting body. Policymakers are already expected to cut rates by a quarter point at that gathering. —Jordan Parker Erb and David E. Rovella

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US initial jobless claims rose to the highest since June, adding to signals that the labor market is cooling. Initial claims increased by 8,000 to 237,000 in the week ended Aug. 30. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for 230,000 applications. Meanwhile, hiring at US companies was less than forecast in August, with private-sector payrolls increasing by 54,000, roughly half the pace of the prior month, according to ADP Research data released Thursday.

The report lines up with Wednesday’s data, which indicate the labor market is gradually cooling, marked by fewer job openings and softer wage gains. Job growth has slowed significantly in recent months, and it’s taking longer for unemployed people to find a new job. And earlier this week, manufacturing in the US was shown to have contracted for six months in a row. 

Still, US stocks hit a new record on the softer-than-expected data (since a rate cut seems a done deal), while several benchmark Treasury yields declined to the lowest levels in several months. 

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has a history of making false or misleading statements about the efficacy of vaccines and other proven medical practices, reiterated some of those beliefs during a fiery Senate hearing in which the Health and Human Services secretary was accused by members of both parties of restricting Covid vaccine access and putting the lives of millions of Americans at risk. He in turn attacked some senators and his critics for what he contends are their false statements and bias.

Thursday’s hearing quickly turned hostile as he was grilled about his mass firings of workers in many of the federal government’s health agencies, his abrupt decision to fire the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director after just a few weeks on the job and his appointment of fellow vaccine skeptics to advisory positions. 

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. during a Senate Finance Committee hearing on Thursday. Photographer: Kayla Bartkowski/Bloomberg

Washington DC officials sued Trump over his militarization of the nation’s capital, escalating local opposition to the administration’s moves to exert more control over the city’s day-to-day affairs. The city contends that the mobilization of more than 2,200 troops since mid-August violates US laws meant to bar the military from carrying out domestic law enforcement activities—a dynamic that DC officials described as an involuntary occupation. The lawsuit also alleges Trump illegally called in National Guard units from other states.

It’s the second lawsuit DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb has filed challenging Trump’s push to federalize policing in the city. It comes on the heels of a US judge’s ruling this week that Trump unlawfully deployed National Guard troops to Los Angeles, which the administration is appealing. Trump has warned that he’s considering deployments to other US cities—all run by Democratic officials.

The Trump administration ordered a criminal investigation into Fed Governor Lisa Cook, the agency’s first Black woman governor, who Trump is trying to fire. He and his aides have alleged that Cook committed mortgage fraud, which she and her lawyers have vehemently denied.

Cook, who hasn’t been charged with any wrongdoing, contends Trump is seeking to oust her from the central bank in his bid to fill it with loyalists who will cut interest rates. Cook has sued Trump to stay on the job with her lawyer saying the president lacked valid grounds to remove her. The Supreme Court, which will likely decide the matter, has said that unlike other agencies, the Fed is different when it comes to Trump’s power of removal.

Goldman Sachs will invest as much as $1 billion in T. Rowe Price and team up with the asset manager to sell private-market products to retail investors. The unusual arrangement means Goldman will use its balance sheet to hold equity in T. Rowe, whose stock has tumbled more than 50% from its 2021 peak. The companies will collaborate on a range of investments for retirement savers and wealthy investors, they said in a Thursday statement.

Goldman will make “a series of open-market purchases” to amass up to 3.5% of T. Rowe’s stock, potentially making the Wall Street bank one of its five biggest shareholders. The tie-up is the latest sign that financial firms are competing hard to win over wealthy Americans and those with 401(k) plans on the merits of private equity, credit and infrastructure strategies.

Citigroup is entrusting BlackRock with tens of billions of dollars of clients’ investments, a move that will close the bank’s only remaining in-house asset manager and outsource more of its wealth unit’s offerings. In a new partnership, BlackRock will manage the assets of thousands of the bank’s wealthiest clients who currently have accounts with Citi Investment Management, the companies said Thursday.

BlackRock, which already manages some of Citigroup’s $635 billion in client investments, will take on the last $80 billion that the bank still oversees by itself. The plan marks a key step in streamlining Citigroup’s wealth business, which has turned its focus to the affluent and is vying to capture a greater share of rich individuals’ wallets.

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