Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tuesday that there’s a “very good chance” that President Donald Trump will name a new Fed chair by Christmas—and Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, has reportedly emerged as the frontrunner to take Jerome Powell’s place in May.
TL;DR
- President Trump may name a new Fed chair by Christmas, with Kevin Hassett reportedly the frontrunner.
- Hassett, a Trump confidant, played a key role in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
- Hassett supports Trump's goal of cutting interest rates, believing the data supports it.
- Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent narrowed contenders to five, including Hassett, Warsh, Waller, Bowman, and Rieder.
Hassett played a central role in shaping and enacting the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 while serving as the Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers during Trump’s initial presidency. The long-standing confidant of Trump is considered by the president's advisors and supporters to be the leading candidate for the next Federal Reserve chair, Bloombergreported Tuesday, according to individuals aware of the situation.
Trump would have a close ally whom the president knows well and would bring the president’s approach to interest-rate cutting to the Fed, Bloomberg reported. Trump has criticized Fed Chair Jerome Powell for not cutting rates more aggressively in the past. Still, Trump is known to make surprise and policy decisions, and that a nomination is not final until it’s made public. “Until an announcement is made by President Trump, discussion about Fed nominations is speculation,” White House Spokesman Kush Desai told Coins2Day in a statement.
Hassett has previously said he’d agree to be Fed chair if nominated. “I want to serve my country and I want to serve my president,” he toldFox News last week. “But you know, we’ll see how it goes. There are a lot of great candidates.”
Bessent, overseeing the selection, reduced a group of approximately ten contenders to five: Hassett, ex-federal reserve governor Kevin Warsh, current Trump-appointed Fed governor Waller, Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman, and Rick Rieder of BlackRock. He indicated that candidate interviews will conclude this week, with a selection of finalists scheduled to meet White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and Vice President JD Vance. The designated Fed chair will subsequently require Senate confirmation.
Although Hassett has previously cautioned about the negative effects of tariffs impacting economic expansion and contended that greater immigration spurs the economy—perspectives that clash with Trump’s directives—the economist stated toldFox News this week that the economic landscape is trending toward “an absolute blockbuster year” by 2026.
Despite a slump in fourth-quarter GDP growth, largely attributed to the protracted U.S. Government shutdown, Hassett forecasted that Trump’s lower corporate tax rates concerning domestic manufacturing and industrial strategies aimed at expanding factory construction will propel next year's expansion in employment and GDP.
“Things are lifting off after this quarter,” Hassett toldFox New s’ Maria Bartiromo during its latest “Sunday Morning Futures” program.
Hassett similarly supports Trump's objectives to lower interest rates. He informed Fox News that he would “be cutting rates right now” if he held the position of Fed chair, as “the data suggests that we should.”