Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tuesday he expects President Donald Trump to make a decision on the new Federal Reserve chair by the holiday season.
In a CNBC interview, Bessent, who has been heading the search for a successor to current Chair Jerome Powell, said he still has one interview to go and was not ready to speculate on who might get the job.
“I think there’s a very good chance that the president will make an announcement before Christmas,” he said. “But it’s his prerogative, whether it’s before the Christmas holidays or in the new year. But I think things are moving along very well.”
Trump has been a fierce Fed critic and recently said he’d “love” to fire Powell and encouraged Bessent to “work on” the chair to get the central bank to lower its key interest rate.
Referring to Bessent, Trump even joked that “if you don’t get it fixed fast, I’m gonna fire your ass.”
“If you were in the room, he was joking,” Bessent said. “We’ve gotten to this point where monetary policy has gotten very complicated, and it’s more than just cutting rates.”
Powell’s term expires in May 2026, and before then he is expected to have his hands full with a suddenly divided Federal Open Market Committee that is split over the need for further cuts. Based on a recent statement from New York Fed President John Williams, markets largely expect the FOMC to approve a third consecutive cut at the December meeting.
In the meantime, Bessent is continuing to interview chair candidates. The slate of finalists is believed to include National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, former Governor Kevin Warsh, BlackRock executive Rick Rieder, and current Fed Governors Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman.
Bessent said he envisions a different role for the Fed from the dominating position it has had since the financial crisis over the economy and financial markets.
“I think we’ve got to kind of simplify things,” he said. “I think it’s time for the Fed just to move back into the background, like, it used to do, calm things down and work for the American people.”
