US President Donald Trump is reportedly preparing to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. As per a New York Times report, Trump even waved around a draft termination letter during an Oval Office meeting. However, he later said it was highly unlikely he would fire the Fed chair but noted that he wasn't ruling out anything.
While experts have weighed in on whether Trump could even fire the Fed chair in the first place, here is a look at who might replace Powell if the POTUS goes through with his threat.
Kevin Hassett
Hassett is one of Trump's longest-serving economic advisors. Now the director of the National Economic Council, Hassett served as the chair of the Council of Economic Advisers in Trump's first term.
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Kevin Warsh
The former Fed governor served on the board from 2006 to 2011. While he was one of Trump's top picks for Powell's job during his first term, the current Fed chair's name went through, with a fair amount of nudging from then-Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Axios reported.
Scott Bessent
While the Treasury Secretary has been instrumental in handling Trump's trade deals, and is seen as a steadying hand by those on Wall Street, the POTUS himself said that Bessent would most likely not be Fed chair since he likes his current role in the administration.
Christopher Waller
{{/usCountry}}While the Treasury Secretary has been instrumental in handling Trump's trade deals, and is seen as a steadying hand by those on Wall Street, the POTUS himself said that Bessent would most likely not be Fed chair since he likes his current role in the administration.
Christopher Waller
{{/usCountry}}Waller is one of the governors on the Fed board. He was nominated by Trump and then confirmed to the post in 2020. He has argued for faster rate cuts, and supported the view that Trump's trade policies won't be inflationary, but just result in one-time price hikes.
Notably, Trump would want Powell's successor to follow orders on lower interest rates, but if he does go through with the firing, it would raise questions about the Fed's long-established independence from political interference.