President Trump is getting closer to naming his replacement for Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell as his patience with the central bank chairman runs out.
Trump told reporters Wednesday that he is down to three or four candidates. He could announce his pick soon, two people close to the administration told Yahoo Finance.
The possibilities, these people said, include former Fed governor Kevin Warsh, National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, former World Bank president David Malpass, and Fed governor Christopher Waller.
The Wall Street Journal reported late Wednesday that he could announce his final pick by September or October — or even this summer — to undercut Powell’s authority for the remainder of his term ending in May 2026. The Journal also reported on the list of possible candidates.
"I know within three or four people who I’m going to pick," the president said Wednesday without offering specific names.
Steve Moore, a longtime adviser to the president, told Yahoo Finance that Trump does want to announce his pick sometime soon, and that he does view it as a shot over the bow at Powell. Warsh, Hassett, Bessent and Malpass are all under consideration, he added, but Waller is not because he voted to keep rates on hold at the last central bank meeting.
Another person close to the administration said late September is possible timing for an announcement, and that Bessent, Hassett, Waller and Malpass are under consideration but that the president is souring on Warsh.
A White House official said no Fed chairman decisions are imminent, although the president has the right to change his mind and he has many good options for the post.
This is not the first time that an early pick to replace Powell has been floated. Before Trump was elected, Bessent in 2024 floated the idea of naming a "shadow chair" well before Powell's term was up, ensuring that "no one is really going to care what Jerome Powell has to say anymore."
Bessent told lawmakers earlier this month he would like to remain in his seat until 2029, but he did not dismiss the possibility of becoming the next chair of the Fed.
Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent speaks with reporters on Tuesday. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images) · Tom Williams via Getty Images Bessent said he has "the best job" in Washington and is "happy to do what President Trump wants me to do," while noting that he "would like to stay in my seat through 2029" to help carry out the administration’s agenda.
Council of Economic Advisers chair Stephen Miran in a Yahoo Finance interview Thursday dismissed the chances of any economic fallout that could come from such a potential move by Trump to announce a "shadow" chair.
Story Continues"I don't know that I see risks to the economy from what the administration does on this stuff, as you know the Federal Reserve sets interest rates and so the primary risks to the economy are from what's actually going on with interest rates not from anything that we do or do not do on that front," he told Yahoo Finance.
The active consideration of Powell successors comes after a period of intensifying pressure from Trump as the Fed chair’s guarded wait-and-see monetary policy stance continues to inflame tensions with the White House. The president has called repeatedly for rate cuts and lobbed a series of insults at Powell via social media, from "loser" to "fool."
Read more: How the Fed rate decision affects your bank accounts, loans, credit cards, and investments
Trump’s comments on Wednesday didn’t address the question of whether he is looking to fire Powell or announce his final pick quickly. Last week the president mused: "Maybe, just maybe, I'll have to change my mind about firing him?"
Powell has said he intends to serve out his term as chair and that he can't be removed by law.
"He goes out pretty soon, fortunately, because I think he's terrible," Trump added Wednesday.
President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) · ASSOCIATED PRESS The comments from the president came as Powell sat before Senate lawmakers for his second day of regularly scheduled testimony before Congress.
Powell told lawmakers that the central bank is "well-positioned to wait" on any interest rate adjustments until it has more clarity on how Trump's tariffs will affect inflation and the direction of the US economy.
Read more: What Trump's tariffs mean for the economy and your wallet
The president's attacks on Powell intensified at the end of last week as Trump called for rates to drop from 4.25% to 4.5% to between 1% and 2% and said of Powell and the Fed's board of governors, "I don't know why the Board doesn’t override this Total and Complete Moron!"
Trump repeated some of those points in a Tuesday social media post, calling for rates "at least two to three points lower" and saying that Powell "will be in Congress today in order to explain, among other things, why he is refusing to lower the Rate."
"I hope Congress really works this very dumb, hardheaded person, over. We will be paying for his incompetence for many years to come."
On Wednesday, Trump reiterated his oft-stated case for why Powell should lower rates by at least one percentage point immediately, citing "no inflation."
U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell testifies before a Senate committee on Wednesday. REUTERS/Kevin Mohatt · REUTERS / Reuters He also recounted an earlier face-to-face meeting with Powell, offering a mocking voice for Powell, and repeated his personal attacks by saying "I think he's a very stupid person actually" and calling him "an average mentally person."
Trump is not the only one calling for lower rates following the last meeting on June 18-19, when all central bank officials voted to keep rates unchanged for the fourth consecutive time.
Even some of Powell's fellow policymakers — Fed governors Michelle Bowman and Waller — have said in recent days that they now see cutting rates as soon as the Fed's next policy meeting in July due to recent mild inflation readings.
But other officials have pushed back on that urgency and warned that it is too soon to know the true effects of tariffs on inflation.
Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Thomas Barkin said Thursday tariffs likely to push inflation up over coming months, even though "I don’t expect the impact on inflation to be anywhere near as significant as what we just experienced” during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Trump has even mused about appointing himself Fed chair. One lawmaker asked Powell on Tuesday if that was even possible.
"I don’t know," Powell said, adding that it's "not a question for me."
Powell has not said if he also plans to leave the Fed's board after his chairmanship is up next May. His term as a Fed governor is not up until 2028.
And on Tuesday and Wednesday, he repeatedly dodged questions about Trump, Trump's policies, and the president's string of personal insults.
"All I want to do in what’s left of my time at the Fed is to have the economy be strong and have inflation be under control. I want to turn it over to my successor in that condition."
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