US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that there is a long list of people who could take over the Federal Reserve.and criticized current Chairman Jerome Powell, as the central bank prepares to begin its two-day meeting.
“We have an incompetent Fed chief… we have a bad Fed chairman, but in a few months he will leave office and we will have someone new”Trump told business leaders at a dinner in Tokyo during his weeklong trip to Asia. Powell’s term ends in May.
The Republican president added that he wanted Scott Bessent to take over the US central bank, but that his Treasury secretary refused: “I’m thinking about him for the Fed… but he won’t take the job. He likes being Treasury secretary, so we’re not really thinking about him.”
On Monday, Bessent told reporters there were five candidates: White House Economic Advisor Kevin Hassett, former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh, current Fed Governor Christopher Waller, Vice Chair of Fed Supervision Michelle Bowman, and BlackRock executive Rick Rieder..
At their meeting this week, which concludes Wednesday, Federal Reserve policymakers are expected to reduce the cost of short-term borrowing in the United States for the second time this yearin an effort to avoid a further slowdown in the labor market.
