'Still At Four Candidates' Says Bessent As Race To Succeed Fed Chair Powell Narrows
The Treasury Secretary said a decision could come around the time of the World Economic Forum in Davos, scheduled for January 19–23, either shortly before Trump departs or soon after he returns.
The race to succeed Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell remains wide open, with four candidates still in contention, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said, signalling that President Donald Trump is yet to make the final call on one of the most consequential economic appointments.
Speaking at an event hosted by the Economic Club of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Bessent said BlackRock’s chief bond investment manager Rick Rieder has not yet been interviewed by Trump, even as the other shortlisted contenders have already met the president. Bessent added that he expects the nomination to be announced later this month.
Rieder is one of four finalists being considered to succeed Powell, whose term as Fed chair expires in May. The remaining candidates are White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett, Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller, and former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh. According to Bessent, all three have already been interviewed by Trump.
Notably, Rieder is the only candidate without prior Federal Reserve experience. Asked whether that was an advantage or a drawback, Bessent said, “Well, the president will decide.”
The Treasury Secretary said a decision could come around the time of the World Economic Forum in Davos, scheduled for January 19–23, either shortly before Trump departs or soon after he returns. Bessent, along with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Energy Secretary Chris Wright, is among the senior administration officials expected to attend the Davos meeting.
Trump, meanwhile, indicated that the decision is already clear in his mind. In an interview with the New York Times published on Thursday, the president said he had made up his mind on the Fed chair nomination but declined to reveal the name.
“I have in my mind a decision,” Trump said during the interview on Wednesday night. “I haven’t talked about it with anybody.”
When asked specifically about Kevin Hassett, Trump refused to elaborate, saying, “I don’t want to say,” but added that Hassett is “certainly one of the people that I like.”
