Top economists give Trump’s Fed pick Moore a rocky reception

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s latest pick to help lead the Federal Reserve has received a rocky reception from top economists. They’re raising several red flags about whether Stephen Moore is qualified to be a governor of the world’s most influential central bank.

The economists say Moore’s background is as a conservative pundit, rather than as a policymaker, regulator, banker or academic. Those are the traditional backgrounds of the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors.

The economists say the former Trump campaign adviser poses the risk of injecting politics into an institution that strives to remain free of political influence when setting short-term interest rates that can determine the path of employment, inflation and overall growth.