President Trump said he wants to appoint former Godfather's Pizza CEO and Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain to the Federal Reserve Board.
"I find Herman to be an outstanding person," Trump told reporters during an Oval Office appearance with the vice premier of China on Thursday. "I would think he would do very well there."
Cain, who served as chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, ran unsuccessfully for president during the 2012 election cycle. He achieved notoriety with his "9-9-9" tax plan, but dropped out of the race after allegations that he sexually harassed women and cheated on his wife — allegations Cain denied in 2011.
Trump suggested those old claims would not disqualify Cain from a Fed post.
"He's doing some pre-checking now and I would imagine he'd be in great shape," the president said.
Cain has criticized Federal Reserve policies in the past, suggesting in a 2012 Wall Street Journal column that the U.S. should return to the gold standard.
Trump has announced plans to fill a second vacancy on the Fed board with another critic, Stephen Moore, who has echoed the president's own complaints that the Fed stifled economic growth by raising interest rates last year.
Moore, a conservative commentator at the Heritage Foundation, has drawn fire from those who say he's overly partisan and lacks the economic credentials for a Fed post. The IRS is also seeking to collect more than $75,000 in back taxes from Moore, who insists he doesn't owe the government any money.
Neither Moore nor Cain has officially been nominated for the Federal Reserve Board.
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