Judy Shelton has been appointed counselor to U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the Treasury Department announced Friday, October 9, 2026. Shelton will advise Bessent on currency policy, "with a particular focus on evaluating financial conditions in China," according to the Treasury's statement.
Shelton's appointment marks a new position within the Trump administration following her failed 2019 nomination to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. At that time, a bipartisan group of senators—including all Democrats and a handful of Republicans—blocked her confirmation over concerns regarding her views on central bank independence, her support for the gold standard, and her questioning of whether the United States needed a central bank.
According to the Treasury Department, Shelton has "specialized in analyzing the internal monetary and financial conditions of nations and their impact on exchange rates" throughout her career. She holds a Ph.D. in business administration from the University of Utah and authored "The Coming Soviet Crash" in 1989 and "Money Meltdown" in 1994, which addressed the need for a unified international monetary regime. Prior to joining the Treasury, Shelton served as a senior fellow at the Independent Institute, a free market think tank, and previously held positions at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the National Endowment for Democracy.
The appointment does not require Senate confirmation. Shelton joins fellow counselor David Zervos, the former chief market strategist at Jefferies, in an advisory role at the Treasury Department. Both positions were created without Senate approval needed.
The hiring comes during a period of significant personnel changes at the Treasury Department. According to reporting, seven Senate-confirmed officials have left the department through the end of August 2026, with only one of those positions filled as of that date.
Shelton's views on monetary policy and central banking remain controversial among economists and policymakers. Her past writings and public statements, particularly her advocacy for alternative monetary frameworks, have generated ongoing debate about appropriate roles for central banks and international monetary coordination.
