Who will be the next chair of Federal Reserve? Bloomberg reported that President Trump said he thinks he’s identified his choice to replace the current Fed Chair, Jerome Powell.
Bloomberg said the president suggested that people are holding him back from firing Powell.
“I think I already know my choice,” Trump told reporters Tuesday in the Oval Office. He did not identify who the choice is, however. “I’d love to get the guy currently in there out right now, but people are holding me back.”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is leading the search and has said he has narrowed the pool of contenders to current Fed Governors Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman, former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh, White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, and BlackRock Inc. executive Rick Rieder.
“We have some surprising names and we have some standard names that everybody’s talking about,” Trump said. “And we may go the standard way. It’s nice to every once in a while go politically correct.”
Bloomberg said that Trump has mused publicly about the decision, praising candidates on the list, but has been coy about suggesting whether he’s leaning toward any one candidate.
Fed Chair Search Process Could End Next Month
Bessent later said on Fox News that he hoped to conclude the search process next month.
“We’re doing another round of interviews. Then some people in the White House will be doing interviews, probably right after Thanksgiving,” Bessent said. “Mid-December, the President will meet with the final three candidates, and hopefully have an answer before Christmas.”
Trump repeatedly has criticized Powell for being too slow to slash interest rates. Powell’s term as chair ends in May, but his term as governor is not scheduled to end until 2028.
Trump said again that he’d like Bessent to take the Fed job, but that Bessent enjoys his role in the administration as Treasury Secretary too much to leave.
Bessent confirmed, however, on Fox News that he could “safely say” he won’t be the pick.
Bloomberg reported that the next Fed chair likely will be named to a 14-year Fed governor term that opens on Feb. 1. The term that expires at that time is currently held by Stephen Miran, who is on unpaid leave from the White House Council of Economic Advisers.
Trump nominated Miran in August o fill a vacancy at the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors.
Adriana Kugler, who was appointed to the Federal Reserve Board by President Joe Biden in 2023, stepped down from her position as Governor on the Fed Board to return to Georgetown University as a Professor in the fall.
Bloomberg said the next Fed chair will need to maintain a careful balancing act, appealing to Trump’s desire for lower interest rates while also maintaining investor confidence.
