Trump's search to replace Fed Chair Powell continues as new report says up to 11 names under consideration

Yahoo

a day ago

The Trump administration is broadening its search for the next Federal Reserve chair, with reports suggesting as many as 11 candidates may be in the running to replace Jerome Powell when his term expires in May.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who is leading the search and interview process for the next Fed chair, said the administration is casting a "very wide net" for candidates.
"The president has a very open mind," Bessent told the Fox Business Network on Tuesday.
"He even considered Janet, reappointing Janet Yellen [in 2017], so we want to see what everyone's thinking," he said. "It's not ideological. It's about economics, what's best for the American people, what's best for the economy."
The broadening search marks an evolution since last week, when Trump said he had narrowed down his list of candidates to three or four people.
A report from CNBC on Wednesday morning citing two administration officials said Trump is now weighing up to 11 candidates to replace Powell, including Jefferies chief market strategist David Zervos and BlackRock chief investment officer for global fixed income Rick Rieder. BlackRock had no comment on the report.
Read more: How the Fed rate decision affects your bank accounts, loans, credit cards, and investments
"President Trump will continue to nominate the most competent and experienced individuals to deliver on his pledge to Make America Wealthy Again. Unless it comes from President Trump himself, however, any discussion about personnel decisions should be regarded as pure speculation," White House spokesperson Kush Desai told Yahoo Finance.
Last week, President Trump suggested in a CNBC interview that the pool of potential nominees to succeed Powell was down to four people, but he said Bessent had asked not to be nominated for the role.
The president suggested that both former Fed governor Kevin Warsh and National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett were at the top of the list. When asked about Fed governor Chris Waller, Trump didn't deny that Waller was among the four possible replacements for Powell.
Former St. Louis Fed president Jim Bullard, Fed governor Michelle Bowman, Fed vice chair Philip Jefferson, Dallas Fed president Lorie Logan, and former Bush administration official Marc Summerlin, and former Fed governor Larry Lindsey are all also considered to be in the running.
Meanwhile, the president nominated Stephen Miran, current chair of the president's Council of Economic Advisers, to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors last week to replace Fed governor Adriana Kugler, who stepped down on Aug. 8. If confirmed by the Senate, Miran's term will run until Jan. 31, 2026.
Bessent told Fox Business that Miran's appointment will "change the composition of the Fed" and suggested Miran could be renominated to a full term on the Fed board.
He also said that the administration will have two seats on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors to fill, assuming that when Powell's term as Fed chair expires next May, he will also step down from his position on the Board of Governors, which does not end until January 2028. Powell has not said what he plans to do.
These changes at the central bank come as markets now expect the Fed to cut interest rates at its September meeting after electing to keep rates unchanged last month. Fed governors Waller and Bowman both voted in favor of a rate cut and later expanded on their views in statements issued in early August.
San Francisco Fed president Mary Daly and Minneapolis Fed president Neel Kashkari, neither of whom are voting members of the FOMC in 2025, have also said since the Fed's July 31 announcement that the case for rate cuts has strengthened.
Powell's next major public appearance is expected on Aug. 22 at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium.