Treasury Hires Judy Shelton as Advisor After Failed Fed Bid
Scott Bessent brings on Judy Shelton, once blocked by the Senate from joining the Fed, as a counselor to the Treasury secretary.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has hired Judy Shelton — the economist whose nomination to the Federal Reserve Board was rejected by the Senate due to her unorthodox monetary views — as a senior advisor, according to reporting from US Top News and Analysis. The move signals that Shelton's heterodox economic thinking, once deemed too controversial for a seat on the Fed, now has a direct line to the nation's top fiscal policymaker.
Shelton drew fierce scrutiny during her 2020 Fed nomination process, with critics targeting her past advocacy for returning to a gold standard and her skepticism of the Fed's independence — positions that put her at odds with mainstream central banking orthodoxy. The Senate ultimately blocked her confirmation, a rare rebuke for a presidential Fed pick.
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By bringing Shelton into the Treasury as a counselor, Bessent is effectively rehabilitating a figure who remained persona non grata in traditional financial policy circles. The role of counselor does not require Senate confirmation, allowing the appointment to bypass the scrutiny that derailed her Fed ambitions. It also places someone with deep skepticism of conventional monetary policy inside an institution that coordinates closely with the central bank she once sought to join.
The hire adds an ideologically distinctive voice to the Treasury's advisory ranks at a moment when the administration is navigating debates over interest rates, dollar policy, and federal spending priorities. Whether Shelton's influence will shape Bessent's public posture on Fed policy or currency questions remains to be seen, but her presence underscores the administration's willingness to elevate unconventional economic thinkers to prominent roles.
Continue reading at US Top News and Analysis.
