The White House is in the midst of interviewing candidates to appoint a new Federal Reserve chair when Jerome Powell’s term expires in May, President Trump said Monday.
The president also described the kind of Fed chair he is looking for.
“We have some surprising names and we have some standard names that everybody’s talking about,” Mr. Trump said. “We may go the standard way. It’s nice to, every once in a while, go politically correct. But we have some great names.”
The president reiterated that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent preferred his present job. He also expressed his displeasure with the performance of Mr. Powell, whom he has frequently criticized for waiting too long to lower interest rates.
“I’d love to get the guy currently in there out … but people are holding me back,” Mr. Trump said, adding that Mr. Powell has done a “terrible job” and is “hurting housing a little bit.”
“The truth is, we’ve been so successful, we’ve blown past his interest rate,” Mr. Trump said.
In late October, Mr. Bessent announced the names of five finalists to replace Mr. Powell, with Mr. Trump adding that he expects to make his decision by the end of this year.
The candidates are current Fed Board members Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman, former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh, White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett and BlackRock Inc. executive Rick Rieder.
“We’re going to do a second round, and we hope to present a good slate to the president right after Thanksgiving. It will ultimately be his choice,” Mr. Bessent said recently.
• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.
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