Trump to Hold Final Interviews for Fed Chair Candidates This Month

[Financial News] U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that U.S. President Donald Trump plans to interview the final leading candidates to succeed Jerome Hayden Powell, Chair of the Federal Reserve System (Fed), whose term ends in May.
On the 11th (local time), Fox Business reported that in a speech at the Minnesota Economic Club, Secretary Bessent said President Trump has one more round of interviews left before nominating the next Chair of the Federal Reserve.
The person Bessent referred to is Rick Rieder, global chief investment officer (CIO) for fixed income at a global asset management firm, and the shortlist has been narrowed down to four: Rieder, Kevin Hassett, Director of the National Economic Council (NEC), Christopher Waller, a Federal Reserve Board governor, and former Fed governor Kevin Warsh.
Hassett is known as a loyalist who has been an ardent supporter of President Trump’s economic policies.
Warsh, a former Morgan Stanley investment banker, has been critical of the current monetary policy under Chair Jerome Hayden Powell.
He became the youngest Federal Reserve Board governor in 2006 and is known to serve as an outside director at Coupang.
Fed governor Christopher Waller has also frequently spoken in favor of the interest rate cuts advocated by President Trump, while emphasizing the independence of the Fed.
Secretary Bessent said he expects President Trump to announce his choice for the next Fed chair by the end of this month.

jjyoon@fnnews.com Yoon Jae-joon Reporter