Trump’s choice to replace Jerome Powell as chair of the Federal Reserve has been ruled out by Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent.
Trump, who has repeatedly criticized Powell for slowing down interest rates, stated on Tuesday that Bessent wanted to stay in his current position.
Trump claimed in an interview with CNBC that he loved Scott but wanted to stay where he was, noting that Bessent had previously told him he didn’t want the position.
Trump mentioned Kevin Warsh, a former member of the Fed’s seven-member board of governors, and Kevin Hassett, the director of the White House National Economic Council as two potential replacements for Powell, whose term expires in May.
He said he could use the opportunity to nominate someone for chair of the board ahead of Powell’s departure to replace Adriana D. Kugler, who announced her early resignation last week as one of the seven governors.
Trump stated, “I’m going to make the decision right away.”
Concern about the US central bank maintaining its independence, which investors believe is crucial to the health of the US economy, has been fueled by Trump’s repeated attacks on Powell, who he mockingly dubbed “too late.”
The S&, P 500 dropped 0.7% in response to rumors last month that Trump had asked Republican lawmakers about firing the Fed chair.
After Trump denied that he had any intention to fire Powell early, US stocks quickly recovered.
The president may only remove the Fed chair “for cause,” which is widely accepted to be evidence of corruption or malfeasance, under US law and US Supreme Court precedent.
Source: Aljazeera
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