Did Trump pick Stephen Moore for the Fed's board because of a Wall Street Journal op-ed?

President Trump says he will nominate Stephen Moore to serve on the Federal Reserve Board — and it may be because of a Wall Street Journal op-ed.

Moore, a former member of the The Wall Street Journal's editorial board, on March 13 co-authored a column titled "The Fed is a Threat to Growth." In it, he and Louis Woodhill criticize the Federal Reserve, asking "what problem were they trying to solve" with its "inexplicable" rate hikes. The column also argues that subsequent "market turbulence ... was all the Fed's doing."

Trump has voiced similar complaints about the Federal Reserve, and the op-ed backs him up by saying that "when President Trump fumed that the Fed's rate increases were smothering his growth policies, he wasn't entirely wrong."

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Last week, Director of the National Economic Council Larry Kudlow showed Trump this op-ed, reports Bloomberg, and Trump commented that Moore should have been appointed chairman of the Federal Reserve. He reportedly then told Kudlow to get in touch with Moore about putting him on the board, with Trump then calling Moore himself earlier this week.

Moore, who also served as an economic adviser during Trump's campaign, has long been critical of Fed Chair Jerome Powell, writing last year that he should resign and "admit that his policies have had disastrous economic and financial consequences." Trump made Moore's nomination official on Friday, tweeting, "I have known Steve for a long time — and have no doubt he will be an outstanding choice!"