Trump Says He Fears Losing Kevin Hassett If Appointed as Fed Chair

The odds of former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh being named as the new head of the U.S. central bank spiked in prediction markets.

Director of the National Economic Council Kevin Hassett in a television interview at the White House, on Dec. 10, 2025, in Washington. Alex Brandon/AP Photo

President Donald Trump said on Jan. 16 that he fears losing National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett if he appoints him as the next chairman of the Federal Reserve.

Trump, speaking at a rural health roundtable event, praised Hassett for his remarks on Fox Business Network earlier in the day.

“You were fantastic on television today. I actually want to keep you where you are, if you want to know the truth,” the president said.

“If I move him, these Fed guys—certainly the one we have now—they don’t talk much. I would lose you. It’s a serious concern to me, so I just want to say thank you very much.”

Hassett, a leading contender to succeed Jerome Powell, told Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo that he wished the Federal Reserve had been more transparent about the cost overruns tied to its headquarters renovation.

Powell revealed on Jan. 11 that the Department of Justice had served the Fed with grand jury subpoenas related to the institution’s comprehensive overhaul and his June 2025 Senate Banking Committee testimony.

In a Jan. 13 statement on X, Jeanine Pirro, U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, said that the probe by federal prosecutors could have been avoided if the central bank “had just responded to our outreach.”

Ultimately, Hassett says, this is about transparency.

“The bottom line ‌is, I expect, you know, Jay is a good man—I expect that there’s nothing to see here, that the cost overruns are related to things like asbestos, as he says. But I sure wish they had been more transparent,” Hassett said.

If he were to take the top job at the Federal Reserve, he would do so with a commitment to federal transparency, he said.

“And I think that that’s something that the Fed could have done a lot better in the past,” he added.

Prediction Markets Shift Odds

Odds of former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh being named as the new head of the U.S. central bank spiked on prediction markets shortly after Trump’s comments.

As of Jan. 16, the chances of Warsh being nominated as Fed chair climbed to about 60 percent, according to Kalshi and Polymarket data.

For weeks, Hassett had been viewed as the heavy favorite, with Fed Gov. Christopher Waller also in the mix.

Market watchers have debated what the future of monetary policy would look like with either Warsh or Hassett leading the Federal Reserve for the next four years.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaks at a news conference following the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting in Washington on Oct. 29, 2025. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times

Hassett has supported the president’s call for lower interest rates. While Warsh has supported rate cuts, he has recommended overhauling the institution, be it policy or personnel.

Meanwhile, Trump has also interviewed BlackRock CIO Rick Rieder for the position.

In a Jan. 12 interview with CNBC’s “Closing Bell,” Rieder acknowledged that the Fed “has some room for policy maneuvering.

“My position has been clear for many months. The Fed needs to lower rates, and I think it doesn’t need to be by much, just down to 3 percent—a level closer to the neutral rate,” he said.

In the end, no matter who is selected, all the named candidates would be terrific choices to helm the central bank after Powell’s term expires in May, Hassett noted.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently said that the president could make his decision sometime this month, either before or after his visit to Davos, Switzerland.

Monetary policymakers will hold their next two-day meeting on Jan. 27 and Jan. 28.

Despite favorable inflation data and lackluster employment figures, the futures market overwhelmingly expects the Fed to keep interest rates unchanged in the target range of 3.5 percent to 3.75 percent.

Summary of Economic Projections—a quarterly survey of officials’ expectations for policy and the economy—indicates policymakers penciling in just one quarter-point rate cut this year.

Traders anticipate at least two or three rate cuts beginning in the spring, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.