After months of speculation and political intrigue, President Donald Trump is close to naming the next Federal Reserve Chairman, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tuesday.
In an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Bessent told CNBC that the president has narrowed the field down to four candidates to replace current Chairman Jerome Powell, and that a decision will be made soon.
“I think the president will reach a decision, probably as early as next week,” he said in an interview on “Squawk Box.” “We’ve had quite a few conversations about this. We went through a process that started in September and selected 11 very strong candidates. We’re down to four candidates now. The president has met with all of them in person and it will be his decision.”
Mr. Bessent did not name the four finalists, but previous comments indicated that five were chosen, including National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, former Federal Reserve President Kevin Warsh, current Federal Reserve President Christopher Waller, current Federal Reserve President Michelle Bowman, and BlackRock’s chief fixed income strategist Rick Rieder.
Prediction markets are focused on Mr. Hassett, Mr. Warsh and Mr. Waller, but White House officials say Mr. Reeder has also met with Mr. Trump and there is growing interest in him. Following President Trump’s recent comments that he wants Hassett to remain in his current role, Warsh has become Carsi’s frontrunner, followed by Reeder and Waller.
Mr. Bessent went through the vetting process but did not indicate any personal preference.
President Trump and White House officials, including the Treasury secretary, have regularly criticized Mr. Powell not only for his stewardship of monetary policy and interest rate settings, but also for the way he runs financial institutions generally. In the latest development, the Justice Department has subpoenaed Mr. Powell in connection with plans to renovate the Federal Reserve’s headquarters.
President Trump nominated Powell to the post in 2017, and former President Joe Biden reappointed him.
“I think the independence of the Fed’s monetary policy is very important, and I think a lot of the issues around independence are driven by other things that are happening right now,” Bessent said. “Under Chairman Powell’s watch, there will be four to six governors or presidents who will have to resign because of ethics issues. This is one of 19. If that happened at a Wall Street company, the CEO would be out of office.”
Several Fed officials, most recently Governor Adriana Kugler, have resigned or resigned for violating investment ethics guidelines.
“Independence does not mean lack of accountability. The Fed has special obligations to the American people because it impacts their lives,” Bessent said.
Powell’s term as chairman expires in May, but he has the option to remain in the role until 2028.
