President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he has reduced the search for a new president of the Federal Reserve to “three or four” candidates, contradicting a report last Wednesday that Trump was considering up to 11 possible successors for the president of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell.
Key data
Trump also said Wednesday that he would name a replacement for Powell, whom he criticizes incessantly for not lowering interest rates, “a little earlier”, since Powell’s mandate expires in May.
Trump also reiterated his frequent criticism of Powell for “too late” to lower interest rates, and told reporters: “I think that name will live with him forever.”
Trump made a similar statement last week, when he told CNBC that the search had been reduced to four people, including “the two Kevins”, referring to the former member of the Federal Reserve Kevin Warsh and the director of the National Economic Council Kevin Hassett.
Trump also did not question in the CNBC interview that the former member of the Federal Reserve Chris Waller was among the candidates, but said that the Treasury Secretary, Scott Besent, is not among the candidates, because “she wants to stay where she is” in the department of the treasure.
However, the CNBC reported on Wednesday that two anonymous officials of the Administration said Trump is considering 11 candidates, including the head of the Head of Market of Jeffries, David Zervos, and the Vice President of Supervision of the Federal Reserve, Michelle Bowman.
Key history
Despite his incessant criticism of Powell, Trump has declared that it is “very unlikely” to dismiss him before his mandate ends, “unless he has to resign by fraud.” Powell, appointed by Trump in 2018 and re -elected in 2022, has not given indications that he plans to resign in advance despite his dispute with Trump. If the president dismissed Powell, he could face important legal obstacles, since the members of the Federal Reserve Board can only be fired with just cause.
What we don’t know
If Powell will leave the board of directors at the end of his mandate, as Besent suggested recently in an interview with Bloomberg. Powell’s mandate on the Board of Directors defeats in January 2028. Bessent said it could be very confusing for the market that a former Fed president remains at the Board and operates as what Besent called a “president of the Fed in the shadow.”
Tangent
Trump declared Tuesday that he is considering approved what he described as an “important demand” against Powell for the renewal project of the Federal Reserve headquarters in Washington, which exceeded the budget. The project, which began in 2021 to renew two Fed buildings that, according to the agency, have not been modernized since the 1930s, it is estimated that it will cost 600 million dollars more than initially estimated. The Fed has refuted the statements of the Republicans that the cost overruns were due to luxury improvements, such as a VIP dining room and an elevator, and has affirmed that it is due to unexpected increases in the cost of labor and supplies, among other factors.
This text was originally published in Forbes Us.
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