The reason behind the abrupt and unexplained resignation of former Federal Reserve Board Gov. Adriana Kugler in August has been revealed.
CNBC, citing information from “unnamed Fed officials familiar with the matter,” reports Kugler’s departure was the result of an investigation that found Kugler broke the central bank’s rules barring trading of individual stocks and executing financial transactions close to meetings where interest rates are set. The violations involving Kugler, who joined the Fed in September 2023 after being appointed by then-President Joe Biden, were related to purchases of stock in companies including Apple, Southwest Airlines, Caterpillar, and Cava Group.
Kugler had been working with US Government Ethics Office officials since September 2024 to resolve her violations of trading policies. An official with the Ethics Office said Kugler’s case was referred to the independent Office of Inspector General for the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. An inspector general is an internal ethics watchdog for federal departments and agencies.
Kugler resigned after she unsuccessfully requested a waiver from Fed Chairman Jerome Powell on a disclosure form that showed she had impermissible holdings. She also sought to frame the stock trading as her husband’s activities.
Kugler returned to Georgetown University to become a professor at the McCourt School of Public Policy and Economics. President Trump appointed his economic advisor Stephen Miran to replace her for the remainder of her term, which expires at the end of January.
