Trump may announce Fed chair pick as soon as next week

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said President Donald Trump could announce his pick for the next Federal Reserve chair "maybe as soon as next week," signaling a rapid conclusion to a months-long, high-stakes search that started last September. Bessent made the remark during media appearances tied to the World Economic Forum in Davos, where he said the White House had "run a process that started in September" and had pared an initial pool of 11 candidates down to "four fantastic candidates." He added that Trump "has personally met with all of them."

The narrowing of the field follows an earlier White House slate that included Federal Reserve governors Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman, former Fed governor Kevin Warsh, White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett, and Rick Rieder, senior managing director at BlackRock. Officials have not published a contemporaneous, confirmed list of the final four candidates Bessent referenced, but his account indicates the process has moved into its final stage.

The selection is unfolding against an unusually political backdrop. The White House has been openly critical of current Fed Chair Jerome Powell, repeatedly pressing for faster moves to cut policy rates and scrutinizing Powell's stewardship of monetary policy. Bessent has openly criticized Powell’s actions, calling it a "mistake for Powell to attend [a] Supreme Court hearing" and emphasizing that the Fed’s monetary independence "is very important." At the same time, the Justice Department has issued a subpoena relating to a renovation project at Federal Reserve headquarters, adding legal complexity to an already contested selection.

Powell’s term as Fed chair ends next May; he could remain on the Federal Reserve Board as one of seven governors until January 2028, a technical possibility that would influence the White House’s ability to reshape the central bank even if a new chair is appointed. The White House earlier filled a vacancy by appointing Governor Stephen Miran to finish an unexpired term that ends Jan. 31. That sequence creates a potential route for a White House nominee: fill Miran’s seat and elevate that person to the chair when the current chair’s term expires.

Market participants are likely to watch the announcement for signals about future policy direction and the preservation of central-bank independence. A nominee perceived as eager to speed rate cuts or to align monetary policy more closely with White House preferences could lower short-term borrowing cost expectations and lift risk assets, while a candidate viewed as a staunch defender of orthodoxy could reinforce current rate trajectories. Financial markets price sensitivity to Fed appointments stems from the chair’s unique role in shaping expectations for inflation, growth and the timing of rate moves.

Bessent framed the choice in broader economic terms, expressing optimism that the United States is "in nascent stages of a productivity boom," a rare positive macro view from an administration official focused on monetary policy. With a decision possibly imminent, attention will shift to which candidate emerges, how the Senate confirmation calendar unfolds, and whether legal and institutional questions surrounding Powell influence the timing or strategy of any nomination.