President Trump hinted Tuesday that he has started interviewing candidates for the next Federal Reserve chair and said he thinks he knows who his pick will be for the position.
“I think I already know my choice,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, regarding who will replace outgoing Fed Chair Jerome Powell, whose term ends in May.
The president reiterated he’s still partial to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who again said he does not want the job.
Pointing to Bessent, Trump said, “I like him, but he’s going to not take the job, he’s going to refuse.”
“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.”
The five candidates on the shortlist are Fed governors Chris Waller and Michelle Bowman, former Fed governor Kevin Warsh, NEC Director Kevin Hassett, and BlackRock head of fixed income Rick Rieder.
Bessent has been leading the interview process and indicated a slightly longer timeline — he said the president will be sitting down with the candidates soon. The secretary is expected to complete second-round interviews with candidates by Thanksgiving.
“I’d love to get the guy currently in there out right now, but people are holding me back,” Trump said of Powell.
Jennifer Schonberger covers the Federal Reserve, Congress, the White House, the Treasury, the SEC, the economy, cryptocurrencies, and the intersection of Washington policy with finance. Follow her on X @Jenniferisms and on Instagram.