As President Donald Trump considers his options for replacing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, whose term expires in May, he said on Tuesday that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent doesn’t want the job. Trump added that the field of candidates to replace Powell has narrowed to four candidates.
The president discussed the upcoming Fed Chair job opening during a nearly 40-minute phone interview with CNBC. Trump did not explicitly reveal who made his list of final candidates for the position, but gave a couple of hints at who he could be considering after Bessent, who was considered one of the top candidates, told Trump that he wanted to remain as Treasury Secretary.
“I love Scott [Bessent], but he wants to stay where he is,” Trump told the hosts of “Squawk Box.” “I asked him just last night, ‘Is this something you want?’ [Bessent said], ‘Nope, I want to stay where I am. He actually said, ‘I want to work with you.’ It’s such an honor. I said, ‘That’s very nice. I appreciate that.’”
Trump said that both former Federal Reserve Board Governor Kevin Warsh and National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett “are very good,” adding, “there are other people that are very good too.” Both Warsh and Hassett have recently criticized the Fed’s refusal to lower interest rates. Warsh, who served as Fed governor from 2006 to 2011, was interviewed for the Fed Chair position in 2017 before Trump nominated Powell, Yahoo Finance reported. Hassett’s ties to Trump include his current position as one of the president’s top economic advisers, as well as serving as an adviser in the first Trump administration.
The announcement of who will replace Powell could be coming “soon,” Trump said. He also commented on the resignation of Biden-appointed Federal Reserve Board Governor Adriana Kugler last Friday, calling it a “pleasant surprise.”
Trump added that he will nominate a replacement for Kugler in the coming days. Asked if his pick to replace Kugler could also be his nominee for the Fed Chair, Trump said it was possible. Kugler will officially step down from her role on Friday.
While Trump didn’t name the other candidates in the running, multiple names have been floated in the media, including Fed Governors Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman, who both dissented against the Fed’s decision last week to keep interest rates steady.
Waller and Bowman, who were both nominated by Trump to serve on the board, have been pushing for lower interest rates as Trump ramps up pressure on Powell. In their dissent, Waller and Bowman said that the central bank’s decision to keep interest rates between 4.25% and 4.50% threatens the economy.