President Donald Trump is weighing two contenders as he considers replacing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, whose term expires in May 2026. The frontrunners: Kevin Hassett, a trusted economic adviser to the president, and Kevin Warsh, a former Fed governor and free-trade advocate.
“President Trump has been clear about the need for the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy to complement the Administration’s pro-growth agenda,” White House spokesman Kush Desai told The Wall Street Journal. “He will continue to nominate the most qualified individuals who can best serve the American people.”
Hassett, 63, a former Fed economist with a Ph.D., has met with Trump twice in June. Though he initially expressed disinterest, he now says he would accept the role. Once a defender of the Fed’s independence, Hassett has pivoted. “Jay Powell is the person who cut rates right ahead of the election to help Kamala Harris” and is “doing whatever it is that Elizabeth Warren wants,” he said in June.
Warsh, 55, has long aspired to the position, having been passed over by Trump eight years ago. He recently conferred with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent about the role and has softened his previously hawkish stance. In a Fox Business interview, Warsh said the Fed could cut rates “more aggressively” if it coordinated with Bessent to shrink its $6.2 trillion balance sheet.
Adding intrigue, Bessent himself has emerged as a possible pick. Trump has reportedly suggested that Bessent could serve as both Treasury Secretary and Fed Chair—though whether the idea is serious remains unclear.
Trump’s dissatisfaction with Powell centers on the Fed’s reluctance to cut rates amid tariff tensions and inflation concerns. Inflation, despite predictions of calamity due to tariffs, has been low, according to multiple months of reporting, leading the president to say that Powell has been “too slow.”
