Trump Considers Naming Next Fed Chair Early in Bid to Undermine Powell

The Shadow Chair Gambit Carries Some Risk for Trump Because Powell Doesn't Have to Leave Fed's Board Until 2028

- DBrian Schwartz & Nick Timiraos

President Trump's exasperation over the Federal Reserve's take-it-slow approach to cutting interest rates is prompting him to consider accelerating when he will announce his pick to succeed Chair Jerome Powell, whose term runs for another 11 months.

In recent weeks, the president has toyed with the idea of selecting and announcing Powell's replacement by September or October, according to people familiar with the matter.

One of these people said the president's ire toward Powell could prompt an even-earlier announcement sometime this summer.

Trump is considering former Fed governor Kevin Warsh and National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett, according to people familiar with the matter.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is being pitched to Trump by allies of both men as a potential candidate, some of these people said.

America's economic resurgence," White House spokesman Kush Desai said.

Powell has said politics don't enter into the Fed's deliberations.

After several years of high inflation gave businesses more experience passing along cost increases, many central bank officials want to make sure cost increases from tariffs won't rekindle inflation.

"If we make a mistake here, people will pay...the cost for a long time," Powell told a Senate committee on Wednesday. Rate cuts this year are possible, but "we're going to take a careful approach."

Bessent has previously said the administration wouldn't begin to interview candidates for the job until September.

The president on Wednesday hinted that he is ready to move more quickly. "I know within three or four people who all I'm going to pick," Trump said during a press conference at the NATO summit. "He goes out pretty soon, fortunately, because I think he's terrible."