Trump Even Considered Re-Appointing Janet Yellen as Fed Chair in Jerome Powell's Place, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent Says

International Business Times

10 hours ago

President Trump is keeping a "very open mind" regarding a successor for Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and has even considered Janet Yellen for the role, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent revealed on Tuesday. Trump has been critical of Powell and has called for his resignation for not implementing interest rate cuts, which is weighing on the economy.
Powell's tenure as chairman of the U.S. central bank is set to end in May 2026, and the Trump administration—already conducting interviews with prospective candidates—is casting a "very wide net" in seeking his successor, Bessent told Fox Business host Larry Kudlow. The Fed left interest rates unchanged in its September meeting.
Trump Adamant About Change
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"The president has a very open mind. He even considered re-appointing Janet Yellen, so we want to see what everyone's thinking," Bessent said when asked who Trump is eyeing to replace Powell.
"It's not ideological, it's about economics, what's best for the American people, what's best for the economy," Bessent argued. "And as I talk to the candidates, I'm looking at three things: monetary policy, regulatory policy, and the ability to run and revamp the organization, because it's really gotten bloated and I think this bloat puts its monetary independence at risk."
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Yellen, 79, led the Federal Reserve as chair from February 2014 to February 2018, serving under former President Barack Obama and continuing into the early part of Trump's first term.
She later held the position of Treasury Secretary throughout former President Joe Biden's single term.
Yellen recently criticized Trump's decision to fire Erika McEntarfer, the Biden-appointed former head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, following allegations that the agency had been misreporting and miscalculating employment figures.
"This is the kind of thing you would only expect to see in a banana republic," Yellen told the New York Times last week.
Trump Has Many Options
As Treasury Secretary, Yellen strongly supported Biden's approach to managing the US economy amid high inflation and voiced criticism of policies from the Trump administration. "Our economic agenda is far from finished," Yellen told the Economic Club of Chicago in January 2024.
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"Our country's infrastructure has been deteriorating for decades," she continued, adding that "in the Trump administration, the idea of doing anything to fix it was a punchline."
The former Fed chair argued that "past measures like the Trump administration's Tax Cuts and Jobs Act increased the deficit by $2 trillion while doing little to spur investment."
Trump is reportedly evaluating up to 10 candidates to succeed Powell next year.
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Candidates under consideration include former St. Louis Fed President James Bullard; Marc Sumerlin, a former economic adviser to President George W. Bush; National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett; former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh; and current Fed Governor Christopher Waller, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Trump has criticized Powell for months over his refusal to lower interest rates, dubbing him "Too Late Powell."
On Tuesday, the president even threatened legal action against the chairman, accusing him of doing a "grossly incompetent job" in overseeing a $2.5 billion renovation of the Federal Reserve's Washington, DC, headquarters—a project Trump insists "should have been a $50 million fix-up."