President Trump expected to decide on Fed Chairman replacement before Christmas

VTV.vn - US President Donald Trump said on November 19 that he wants to appoint Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent as Chairman of the US Federal Reserve (Fed).

View outside the US Federal Reserve (Fed). Photo: Kyodo/TTXVN

This was the second time in two days that he had made such a statement. However, Mr. Bessent refused and insisted that he did not want to take the job.

President Trump has strongly criticized Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, whose term ends in May 2026, for not acting quickly enough to lower interest rates. He asserted that Mr. Powell's successor will push for aggressive rate cuts and possibly change the way the Fed operates. Earlier this year, Secretary Bessent also publicly criticized the Fed's measures to support financial markets and the economy after the Great Recession of 2008-2009 and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mr. Bessent is currently leading the search for a candidate to become Fed chairman under President Trump. Although he declined to take the job, he is still considered one of the leading candidates to replace Mr. Powell.

“He is the best candidate out there,” said Stephen Moore, Trump’s economic adviser during his first term. “President Trump wants to change the system, so I believe he will choose someone who is independent and willing to reform.”

Of the five candidates proposed by Mr. Bessent, two are current Fed officials: Governor Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman. The other three are outsiders: Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council; Kevin Warsh, a former Fed governor who has been a vocal critic of the agency; and Rick Rieder, a senior executive at asset management firm BlackRock.

In an interview with Fox News, Mr. Bessent said the administration is continuing the process of selecting candidates for the position of Fed Chairman. He added that President Trump will meet with the final three candidates in mid-December 2025 and is expected to make a decision before Christmas.

Source: https://vtv.vn/president-trump-du-kien-se-quyet-dinh-nguoi-thay-the-chu-chairman-fed-truoc-giang-sinh-10025112015450639.htm