Trump says four candidates in running for Fed chair, rules out Bessent

United States President Donald Trump has ruled out Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent as his pick to replace Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

Trump, who has repeatedly criticised Powell for not moving faster to lower interest rates, said on Tuesday that Bessent wished to continue in his current role.

“I love Scott, but he wants to stay where he is,” Trump said in an interview with CNBC, adding that Bessent was doing a “great job” and had told him as recently as Monday that he did not want the position.

Trump said he had four candidates in mind to replace Powell, whose term expires in May, including Kevin Warsh, who formerly served on the Fed’s seven-member board of governors, and Kevin Hassett, the director of the White House National Economic Council.

He said he could use the opportunity to replace Adriana D Kugler, who last week announced her early resignation as one of the seven governors, to put his pick for chair on the board in advance of Powell’s departure.

“I’m going to make the decision soon,” Trump said.

Trump’s repeated attacks on Powell, whom he has mockingly dubbed “too late”, have stoked concern about the US central bank maintaining its independence, which investors view as crucial to the health of the US economy.

Following reports last month that Trump had asked Republican lawmakers whether he should fire the Fed chair, the benchmark S&P 500 tumbled 0.7 percent.

US stocks swiftly recovered after Trump denied that he had any intention to remove Powell early.

Under legislation and US Supreme Court precedent, the president may only remove the Fed chair “for cause”, widely interpreted to mean proof of corruption or malfeasance.