While President Donald Trump has decided against firing Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell for the time being, the lineup of possible replacements is becoming increasingly clear.
Earlier this week, Trump told reporters at the White House that Powell is doing a “lousy job” and that “so many people” have called him “begging for the job.”
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The president said he most likely would not fire Powell before the Fed Chair term ends next May but added that he would not “rule out anything.” Trump called the Fed Chair role, which guides the future of U.S. monetary policy, “the easiest job in government” if the person is not “a dummy.”
More recently, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the administration had started a “formal process” to pick Powell’s successor.
When asked about the timeline for announcing a new Fed chair, Bessent said it is “President Donald Trump’s decision, and it will move at his speed.”
Meanwhile, Bessent has previously downplayed rumors that he could be selected by Trump to lead the Federal Reserve, telling FOX Business’ Maria Bartiromo that he remains satisfied with his current job in the administration.
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“I think I have the best job in Washington,” Bessent said on “Mornings with Maria” calling his role within Trump’s Cabinet a “dream of a lifetime for me.”
Trump said on Wednesday that he was pleased with Bessent, a former hedge fund chief, at his current Treasury post.
Tensions between Powell and Trump have stemmed from the central bank’s interest rate decisions to renovation cost overruns at the Federal Reserve’s two main D.C. office buildings.
Powell, who was appointed to the Fed Chair role by Trump in 2017, has previously said that he “will never, ever, ever leave this job voluntarily.”
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“It doesn’t occur to me in the slightest that there would be any situation in which I would not complete my term other than dying,” Powell said, according to an excerpt from “Trillion Dollar Triage.”
Here’s a look at who could potentially become the nation’s next Fed Chair.
Director of the National Economic Council Kevin Hassett
Kevin Hassett currently serves as the director of the White House’s National Economic Council and has been a loyal defender of Trump’s economic agenda.
Hassett held two roles during the first Trump administration and advised Trump on economic policy during the 2024 presidential campaign.
Trump told reporters at the White House on Wednesday that he thought Hassett “was fantastic” when asked whether he could potentially succeed Powell.
Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller
Christopher Waller, a current member of the Fed’s governing board, said Thursday that the central bank should cut interest rates later this month, a move that aligns, in part, with Trump’s demands.
Waller cited a slow-down in consumer spending and gains in the job market settling for reasons to cut rates. Addressing Trump’s trade blitz, Waller said the Fed should “look through tariff effects,” adding that the impact on inflation rates will be temporary.
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Of Trump’s potential candidates to succeed Powell, Waller is considered the veteran academic of the group. He has also reiterated the importance of maintaining an independent Federal Reserve.
Waller, who was tapped by Trump to join the Fed board in 2020, has largely voted along with Powell. More recently, though, he has called for a rate cut as early as this month.
Former Federal Reserve Board Governor Kevin Warsh
Kevin Warsh ascended to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors in 2006. At the time, the ex-Morgan Stanley banker was the youngest person to join the Fed board.
He was among the leading candidates to replace Fed Chair Janet Yellen in 2018, before Trump ultimately appointed Powell. He was also considered a contender for Treasury secretary in the second Trump administration.
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In recent interviews, Warsh has renewed calls for a regime change at the Fed, saying the “broad conduct of monetary policy has been broken for quite a long time.”
“The central bank that sits there today is radically different from the central bank I joined in 2006,” Warsh said during a CNBC interview on Thursday.
“This isn’t the first time in the last decade that you’ve heard me say that we need a regime change at the Fed. It’s not just about a person, it’s about an approach to economics and an approach to what they’re doing,” he added.
Warsh also backed Trump’s pressure campaign on Powell, saying that the Fed does a “very good job of blaming others for their mistakes.” He said, “It’s been very popular to blame the president because he is being so mean to them. Most of the Feds’ mistakes are because of choices they’ve made.”
Warsh, who stepped down from the Fed board in 2011, was widely recognized as the Fed’s key liaison to Wall Street during the 2008 financial crisis. He also served as an economic advisor to former President George W. Bush.
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