President Trump said on Tuesday that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has told him he does not want to be Federal Reserve chair, taking him off the shortlist of contenders to replace Jerome Powell.
Mr. Trump said that has narrowed his list of replacements to four people, a group that includes a former Fed governor, Kevin Warsh, and the director of the White House National Economic Council, Kevin Hassett. Mr. Trump said Mr. Bessent had told him as recently as Monday that he did not want the job.
“I love Scott, but he wants to stay where he is,” Mr. Trump said in an interview with CNBC. “I’ll take him off, because I asked him just last night, ‘Is this something you want?’ ‘Nope, I want to stay where I am.’”
Mr. Trump has relentlessly criticized Mr. Powell for not lowering interest rates according to the president’s demands, but he has repeatedly backed away from attempting to remove him before his term as chair expires in May 2026.
Pressed on the names of other candidates who might serve as a replacement, Mr. Trump confirmed only that Mr. Warsh and Mr. Hassett were leading contenders. “I think the two Kevins are doing well,” Mr. Trump said. “And I have two other people who are doing well.”
His caution may be a reflection of his persistent unhappiness with Mr. Powell, whom he nominated to lead the Federal Reserve in 2017. “Sometimes they’re all very good until you put ’em in there, and then they don’t do so good,” Mr. Trump said.
Mr. Trump said he would make a decision on a replacement for Mr. Powell “soon.”
One option, he said, was to initially place his choice on the Federal Reserve Board as a replacement for Adriana D. Kugler, who announced suddenly that she would step down this week from her position as a governor. Her term was set to expire in January, but her early resignation gives Mr. Trump an opportunity to more quickly appoint someone who could eventually replace Mr. Powell as chair.
Alan Rappeport is an economic policy reporter for The Times, based in Washington. He covers the Treasury Department and writes about taxes, trade and fiscal matters.
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