Powell, increasingly alone: his right-hand man resigned after the July jobs report

Federal Reserve (in English, Fed) Governor Adriana Kugler, who was appointed to the position by former President Joe Biden and was considered Jerome Powell's right-hand woman, announced her resignation this Friday.

Kugler's departure comes amid an inexplicable refusal by Powell, who currently chairs the central banking entity, to lower the benchmark interest rates, which has caused the labor market to contract in July.

On Wednesday, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, with a Democratic majority, voted for the fifth consecutive time to keep interest rates unchanged, a decision that can only be interpreted as an attempt to subvert Trump's economic policy.

Trump will be able to nominate Kugler's replacement. 

Kugler had been nominated by Biden and joined the Board of Governors in September 2023, in addition to having been part of Obama's White House in the past decade. She explained that her departure from the entity is due to her taking a position as a professor at Georgetown University in the fall. 

The former Obama official was supposed to remain on the board until the end of her term in January 2026. She was also one of the governors closest to Powell and a defender of keeping interest rates stable, citing alleged uncertainty surrounding Trump's tariffs. 

This resignation opens the door for Trump to nominate another candidate for the board, where his two previous appointees, Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman, have favored common sense and advocated for rate cuts. 

Powell's days are numbered. 

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System is the main governing body of the U.S. Central Bank. It is composed of seven members. Of the current members, four have been nominated by former President Biden and the remaining three by Trump. 

Powell chairs this body and his term expires in May 2026, although rumors of his resignation have circulated in recent months. At this point, it is undeniable that Powell would rather harm the U.S. economy than admit that President Trump's diagnosis is correct. 

The Republican has repeatedly criticized Powell after the Fed once again voted on Wednesday to keep interest rates in the 4.25% to 4.5% range, suggesting that the board of governors should take control and do what common sense dictates.