U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) Governor Stephen Miran stepped down on Tuesday from his position as chair of the White House's Council of Economic Advisers (CEA), ending a controversial arrangement where he held positions at both institutions.

President Donald Trump appointed Miran in September to a seat on the Fed's seven-member board of governors after Adriana Kugler, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden, abruptly resigned.

The arrangement drew the ire of Democratic Senators who said it would make a presidential puppet of the Fed's newest policymaker. Miran said he had been legally advised there was no need to quit his CEA post as the Fed job was only for a few months.

He completed his term, which ended Jan. 31. Yet he can remain on the Fed's board until a replacement is confirmed by the Senate.

It is unusual for someone to keep a White House position while also serving as a Fed governor, a nonpartisan position. Previous presidents have appointed aides to the Fed, but for decades, they gave up their White House positions before joining the Fed. Miran took an unpaid leave of absence instead.

Miran said when he was named in September that he would step down from his position at the CEA if he remained on the Fed board after Jan. 31. Fed governors vote on interest rate decisions and bank regulatory policy.

"In accordance with the pledge he made to the Senate during his confirmation to the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors, Stephen Miran has submitted his resignation from the Council of Economic Advisers," White House spokesman Kush Desai said late on Tuesday.

The move underscores the intrigue around the Fed and its upcoming personnel changes. Trump has nominated Kevin Warsh, a former Fed official, to replace current Fed Chair Jerome Powell, whose term atop the central bank ends May 15.

Yet Powell could, under a quirk in the Fed's structure, remain on the board after his term as chair ends and deny Trump the opportunity to fill another seat. Many observers, as a result, expect Warsh to take Miran's seat and then be elevated to replace Powell in May, but that sequence of events hasn't yet been confirmed.

The White House had no immediate comment on whether Pierre Yared, now the CEA's acting chair, would be named to the top post permanently.

Miran has argued for sharply lower interest rates at every ‌Fed meeting since he joined the central bank. Trump has made no secret of his desire for the Fed to reduce interest rates, and indeed made support for easier monetary policy one of his criteria ​for a new Fed chief.

Powell disclosed in January that the ‍Department of Justice (DOJ) had launched a criminal probe into statements he made to the Senate about Fed building renovations. He has described the investigation as part of a broader ‍effort by ​the administration ‍to exert control over the Fed.

The DOJ last year also opened ⁠an investigation into Fed Governor Lisa Cook for alleged misstatements ‍on her mortgage application. She denies wrongdoing and is suing to stop Trump's attempt to fire her in a case that is before the Supreme Court.

A majority of the Senate Banking Committee, including all its Democratic members and one of its Republican members, have decried the DOJ's investigation of Powell as ⁠political intimidation and have said ‌they oppose moving forward on Warsh's nomination while it is ongoing.