(Bloomberg) -- Federal Reserve nominee Stephen Moore called the Fed’s December interest-rate hike “a very substantial mistake” while adding that he looks forward to working with Chairman Jerome Powell to help ensure the U.S. economy continues to expand.

“Everyone would now acknowledge that what they did in December with the rate increase -- it was a very substantial mistake,” Moore said in an interview Friday with Bloomberg Television. Asked about whether a rate cut is needed, he said “I’m not sure about that -- I’d have to take a closer look at it.”

Hours earlier, President Donald Trump announced plans to nominate Moore for one of two vacancies on the Fed’s seven-seat board, confirming an earlier Bloomberg News report. The president later said in a tweet that Moore is “a very respected economist” and said he has “no doubt he will be an outstanding choice.” The pick is subject to Senate confirmation.

Moore, an economist at the conservative Heritage Foundation, said in the interview that he and Trump “think a lot alike” when it comes to economics. “I really believe we can have 3 to 4 percent growth for next five to six years.”

Fed officials on Wednesday penciled in a long-term growth estimate of 1.9 percent for the U.S. economy.

“I don’t want to be a disruptor,” Moore said. “I want to be somebody who can really help Chairman Powell and the others on that board to construct to the best pro-growth, stable price system that we can for this country.”

--With assistance from Michael McKee and Scarlet Fu.

To contact the reporters on this story: Craig Torres in Washington at ctorres3@bloomberg.net;Rich Miller in Washington at rmiller28@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Alister Bull at abull7@bloomberg.net

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