Trump Short-Lists Hassett, Warsh, and Waller as Top Picks for Fed Chair

President Donald Trump had initially considered Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent as a finalist, but Bessent preferred to remain in his current role.

National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett speaks to reporters at the White House on April 14, 2025. Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

President Donald Trump confirmed on Sept. 5 his top three candidates to succeed Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell when his term ends in May 2026.

Speaking to reporters, Trump said he is considering former member of the Fed Board of Governors Kevin Warsh, current Fed board member Christopher Waller, and National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett for the role.

“You could say those are the top three,” the president told reporters in the Oval Office.

Trump said he had initially considered Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent as a fourth finalist but that Bessent said he preferred to remain in his current role.

“I had him as a fourth,” he said of Bessent. “He told me, ‘I’m not leaving.’”

Bessent, who is overseeing the search for Powell’s successor, told reporters that he was not interested in the job.

Trump has signaled that he wants to appoint someone who is more inclined to lower interest rates, a point on which he has clashed with Powell.

The Trump administration has been at loggerheads with the Fed over interest rate cuts. Trump wanted the Fed to lower interest rates to bring down borrowing costs and spur growth, but the central bank has kept its benchmark policy rate unchanged at a range between 4.25 percent and 4.50 percent for five consecutive meetings.

Powell has argued that the Fed should wait for more clarity on the economy’s trend before moving to cut rates, citing the effect of the administration’s policy changes.

Bessent, on Aug. 12, urged the central bank to slash interest rates by half a percentage point at its September policy meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee and follow up with a series of reductions to bring borrowing costs down by at least 150 basis points.

The push for lower rates comes as inflation appears substantially contained. The headline consumer price index rose by 2.7 percent in July, in line with expectations, while core inflation ticked up to 3.1 percent.

Waller has supported lowering interest rates. The Fed governor said in April that he would favor cutting rates “sooner” and to a greater extent than he had previously thought.

“With a rapidly slowing economy, even if inflation is running well above 2 percent, I expect the risk of recession would outweigh the risk of escalating inflation, especially if the effects of tariffs in raising inflation are expected to be short-lived,” Waller said in his speech.

Hassett has agreed with Trump that the Fed has kept rates inappropriately high, while Warsh has called for a “regime change in the conduct of policy” at the central bank.

Tom Ozimek and Reuters contributed to this report.