Senators request details from Trump's Fed pick on unpaid taxes

WASHINGTON — Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., pressed Stephen Moore, a presumed nominee for the Federal Reserve Board, for information on his reported unpaid federal taxes.

Moore, a visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation and an economic adviser to the 2016 Trump campaign, has drawn pushback from critics who say he is unqualified for the role. Those calls intensified when court records surfaced showing that he owes more than $75,000 in taxes and failed to pay more than $300,000 in alimony and child support.

Stephen Moore
Stephen Moore, visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation, speaks during a Bloomberg Television interview in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Friday, March 22, 2019. President Donald Trump said he's nominating Moore, a long-time supporter of the president, for a seat on the Federal Reserve Board. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

Brown, who is the ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee, and Wyden, who is the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, requested that Moore explain the circumstances around his unpaid taxes, why he failed to respond to notifications from the Internal Revenue Service and whether or not he still owed taxes.

“As the Senate considers your potential nomination, we read with concern reports that a court entered a lien against you in January 2018 in favor of the United States government for unpaid taxes, interest, and penalties in the amount of $75,328.80,” the senators wrote in their letter.

The Banking Committee may request his 2014 tax returns, and if Moore is nominated by the White House the Senate panel could ask for more detailed information, the senators said. President Trump said last month that he planned to select Moore for the Fed board but his name has not been submitted to the Senate.

Brown and Wyden requested that Moore respond by April 15 if he intends to make himself “available for nomination for the Federal Reserve Board.”

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Tax debts Monetary policy Policymaking Sherrod Brown Ron Wyden Federal Reserve Senate Banking Committee
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