Moore and Cain Out… Will Judy Shelton Be Trump’s Next Pick?

President Trump doesn’t have a great track record in nominating people to the Federal Reserve Board, with several of his picks having decided to remove themselves from contention over the past couple of years. The latest two were his picks to fill the two remaining spots on the Fed’s Board of Governors, economist Stephen Moore and businessman Herman Cain.

Both Moore and Cain were savaged by the mainstream media, which picked up on their previous support of the gold standard. But taking a closer look, it was clear that neither Moore nor Cain was as enthusiastic a supporter of the gold standard as the media wanted to make them appear.

Now the word is that Trump might appoint someone who’s an even stronger supporter of a gold standard, and someone with an even better pedigree than Moore or Cain. Economist Judy Shelton has long been rumored to be a potential candidate for the Fed’s Board of Governors, yet has never received a nomination. Now it may be her turn, if she’s willing to accept the position.

Shelton was part of President Trump’s transition team as an economic advisor, and formerly led the Atlas Network’s Sound Money Project. She has a long history of working with prominent sound money and gold standard advocates, and has an understanding of the benefits of gold as money that neither Moore nor Cain did. If Shelton were to receive the nomination to the Fed’s Board, she would be an articulate defender of sound money and the role of gold in a sound monetary system.

Of course those qualifications would lead to an uphill battle in getting her confirmed, with the mainstream media and the economics profession leading the charge. No one today is interested in actually debating the merits of the gold standard, preferring to use insults and ad hominem attacks to smear its proponents. But we can certainly hope that, given President Trump’s recent personnel moves, he might appoint someone as solid as Dr. Shelton to the Fed.