Treasury hires Judy Shelton as counselor on currency policy

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has appointed Judy Shelton as a counselor, a role that places the former Federal Reserve nominee in charge of advising on currency policy with a particular focus on evaluating financial conditions in China. The Treasury announced the appointment, noting that the release was scheduled for later Friday.

Shelton’s selection draws attention to her prior rejection by the Senate during the 2019 administration of President Donald Trump. A bipartisan group of senators, including all Democrats and several Republicans, blocked her nomination to serve as a Fed governor. Their opposition centered on her views regarding Federal Reserve independence, her advocacy for a gold standard, and her public questioning of the necessity for a central bank in the United States.

The department stated that Shelton specializes in analyzing the internal monetary and financial conditions of nations and their impact on exchange rates. Her academic background includes a Ph.D. in business administration from the University of Utah. Before joining the Treasury, she served as a senior fellow at the Independent Institute, a free market think tank, and previously held a position at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. Her published works include "The Coming Soviet Crash" from 1989 and "Money Meltdown" from 1994, the latter of which addresses the need for a unified international monetary regime.

The appointment arrives amid reported personnel turnover at the Treasury. A recent report by The Wall Street Journal identified seven Senate-confirmed officials who had left the department by the end of August, with only one position having been filled in their stead. Bessent has also recently named David Zervos, former chief market strategist at Jefferies, to the same counselor title. Neither Shelton nor Zervos require Senate approval for their roles.