New Fed official just sent a 'worrying' signal on his first day on the job: expert

A high-profile economist warned on Wednesday afternoon that President Donald Trump's newest appointee to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors sent a "very worrying" signal during his first day on the job.

Justin Wolfers, an economics professor at the University of Michigan, joined CNN's Jake Tapper on "The Lead" to discuss the state of the U.S. economy. Wolfers' comments came just a few hours after the Federal Reserve announced it was going to lower interest rates by 0.25%.

The newest Federal Reserve Governor, Stephen Miran, was the lone dissenting vote in the move, Wolfers noted. Miran is currently on leave from his role as a White House economics advisor while he serves as a Federal Reserve Governor, which has led some to believe that he is on the board to do Trump's bidding.

Wolfers said on Wednesday that Morin sent a "signal" that points in that direction.

"The concern was that he would be carrying water for the White House," Wolfers said. "In his very first meeting, without enough time to have been properly briefed, he alone dissented from everyone else. That's a statement. That's a signal."

"If you wanted to signal 'I am the White House's boy,' this is the signal you would send," Wolfers added.