As speculation builds over who might eventually succeed Jerome H. Powell as chair of the Federal Reserve, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says he is not seeking the role and remains focused on his current post.
Bessent, who has held the Treasury job since January, said in an exclusive interview with Breitbart News on Wednesday that he believes his current role is where he can be most effective.
“I have the best job in D.C. I think it is my highest and best use,” Bessent said in an exclusive interview with Breitbart News. “And I hope the president does too.”
Though financial and political circles have floated Mr. Bessent’s name as a potential successor to Mr. Powell, several people familiar with the matter said he has no interest in moving to the central bank.
“The Secretary is not ‘in the running’ to be Fed chair,” said one person briefed on internal conversations. “He has the job he wants.”
Another official involved in policy discussions described the idea as far-fetched.
“Bessent is the best Treasury Secretary we’ve had since Hamilton,” the official said. “Why would Trump push him out of the administration into the Fed? This doesn’t even make sense.”
White House aides have indicated that the administration is instead considering current Federal Reserve Governors Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman as potential successors when Mr. Powell’s term expires in 2026. Both are viewed as philosophically aligned with the administration and have played key roles in recent monetary policy decisions.
Some officials acknowledged that nominating a sitting Treasury Secretary to lead the Federal Reserve could draw criticism, even if unfounded, that the move would compromise the central bank’s independence.
“Putting Bessent into the Fed would likely raise allegations that it would compromise the Fed’s independence,” one official said. “That’s nonsense—but it’s also not a fight anyone needs to have.”
Mr. Powell, who was appointed by President Trump in 2018 and reappointed by President Biden in 2021, is not expected to be asked to serve a third term. President Trump, however, has been severely critical of Powell’s leadership of the U.S. central bank, nicknaming him “Mr. Too Late” and deriding him as a “loser.” Trump has said the Fed reacted too late to the surge of inflation under Joe Biden and is now again behind the curve as it has held rates steady since Trump took office.
In public comments on Thursday, he referred to Mr. Powell as a “numbskull” for declining to cut interest rates.
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