Donald Trump’s pick for the next Federal Reserve chief will be one of the most important economic decisions of 2026.
Jerome Powell’s term ends in May and the President is expected to name his successor by the end of this month.
He must decide whether to pick someone who will do his bidding and slash interest rates – but run the risk of undermining the Fed’s credibility and upsetting markets.
Favourite for the job is Trump’s top economic adviser Kevin Hassett, a loyalist who has endorsed his boss’s sweeping import tariffs and called for lower interest rates.
Hassett, 63, yesterday backed the Department of Justice’s probe into the Fed, saying if he were chairman of the central bank he would ‘want them to do that’.
Others in the frame include Fed governors, Michelle Bowman and Christopher Waller, as well as a former governor, Kevin Warsh, and Blackrock’s Rick Rieder.
Loyalist: Trump’s top economic adviser Kevin Hassett (pictured) has endorsed his boss’s sweeping import tariffs and called for lower interest rates
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