By Paul Kiernan 

WASHINGTON -- Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said Tuesday he has been approached by White House officials "in recent months" about the possibility of serving on the Fed's Washington board of governors.

Mr. Bullard told reporters he has talked "to a lot of people" but characterized the discussions as "exploratory in nature." He added that he is happy in his current position and has pointed out to White House officials that he currently sits on the Fed's rate-setting committee.

The Trump administration is searching for candidates to fill two vacancies on the Fed's seven-member board, which helps to set monetary policy and wide-reaching financial regulation. President Trump has frequently criticized the Fed for keeping interest rates too high.

Mr. Bullard has tended to favor lower interest rates than some of his colleagues in recent years. At the Fed's most recent policy meeting, he cast the sole dissenting vote against holding rates in their current range, preferring to lower borrowing costs by a quarter percentage point.

On Tuesday he said in an interview on Bloomberg television that he didn't think the Fed needed to cut its benchmark fed-funds rate by more than a quarter point at its next meeting in late July.

Mr. Bullard is eligible to serve in his current post until 2026, when he would face a retirement age limit, according to data compiled by the Brookings Institution.

Write to Paul Kiernan at paul.kiernan@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 25, 2019 18:53 ET (22:53 GMT)