After months of speculation and political intrigue, President Donald Trump is close to naming the next chair of the Federal Reserve, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tuesday.
The president has narrowed the field to four candidates to succeed current Chairman Jerome Powell and a decision is imminent, Bessent told CNBC during an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
“I suspect the president will make a decision perhaps as early as next week,” he said during the “Squawk Box” interview. “We’ve had extensive discussions about this. We’ve started a process that started in September – 11 very strong candidates. Now we’re down to four candidates. The president has personally met with everyone and it will be his decision.”
Bessent did not name the four finalists, although previous comments indicated there were five participants, including National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh, current governors Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman, and BlackRock’s chief fixed income strategist Rick Rieder.
Prediction markets have focused on Hassett, Warsh and Waller, although White House officials said Rieder has also met with Trump and that he has drawn more interest. Lately, Warsh has emerged as the frontrunner for Kalshi, followed by Rieder and Waller, after Trump expressed that he would prefer Hassett to remain in his current role.
Bessent conducted the screening process but did not specify any personal preferences.
White House officials, including Trump and the Treasury secretary, have regularly criticized Powell both for his conduct of monetary policy and interest rate setting and for the way he has run the institution generally. Recent developments have led to the Justice Department subpoenaing Powell in connection with the renovation project at the Fed headquarters.
Trump nominated Powell for the position in 2017, and former President Joe Biden reappointed him.
“Look, I think the Fed’s monetary policy independence is very important. I think a lot of the problems around independence come from the other things that are happening,” Bessent said. “Under Chairman Powell’s watch, four to six governors and presidents have had to resign for ethical reasons. That’s out of 19. If that happened at a Wall Street firm, the CEO would be out.”
Several Fed officials, most recently Gov. Adriana Kugler, have either retired or resigned for violating ethical investing guidelines.
“Independence does not mean a lack of accountability. The Fed has a special obligation to the American people because it impacts their lives,” Bessent said.
Although Powell’s term as chairman expires in May, he has the option to remain as governor until 2028.