Trump says he has a top choice to replace Jerome Powell as Federal Reserve chair, but skips on a name

Donald Trump said that he has likely narrowed down his pick to replace Jerome Powell, the chair of the Federal Reserve, to one person.

But he declined to say who that person was as he spoke to CNBC’s Joe Kernen after his Wednesday speech to the World Economic Forum, in Davos, Switzerland. Trump’s speech to world leaders was a rambling address where he attacked his domestic and international political foes while finally ruling out military action against a NATO ally in order to acquire Greenland.

Trump spoke to Kernen and attacked Powell repeatedly over his refusal to cut interest rates to a greater degree, as well as for supposedly getting spooked when economic numbers have a sustained rally. Powell is set to leave the Federal Reserve this summer, and Trump will pick his replacement. Trump has not only attacked Powell for the rates, but also questioned a $2.5 billion renovation project for the reserve’s headquarters.

That sparked a Department of Justice investigation into Powell, who blasted the probe.

With the fight between the two ongoing, Trump told Kernen “I’d say we’re down to three but we’re down to two, and I can probably can tell you we’re down to maybe one, in my mind.”

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Trump’s economic advisor Kevin Hassett was floated as a possible replacement, but Trump elected to keep him in his current ole. Other names include Kevin Warsh, Christopher Waller and Rick Rieder.

Trump also used the interview to blast Powell and how he has steered the economy.

“[Powell]’s too late, he’s always too late, except when it comes to politics for the other side,” Trump complained in the interview. “Right now, if you announce great numbers, the stock market goes down. Because they think ‘Oh, they’re going to raise the [interest] rate. They’re going to kill it.’”

“Which truly stops you from having any great runs, and we want to have a great run,” the president continued.

Trump’s sustained criticism of Powell and threats to fire the chair of the Federal Reserve have caused fears on Wall Street and Capitol Hill both in the past. Most recently, senators including members of Trump’s own party expressed alarm after the Department of Justice, which is on a run of prosecutions targeting the president’s personal enemies, opened a criminal investigation into Powell.

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The case even triggered a rare warning from Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who advised the administration publicly: “I haven’t seen the case or whatever the allegations or charges are, but I’d say they better be real and they better be serious.”

Powell’s investigation by the DOJ is likely to seriously complicate plans to replace him in May, when his term expires as chair. It could also encourage him to remain on as a governor, as which he is serving on a separate term thanks to the complicated leadership structure of the Fed. Typically, chairs of the Fed step down as governors when they retire from the top job, but it’s not unheard of for one to stay on.

The end of Powell’s term falls under the shadow of the greatest efforts by the White House to erode the Fed’s independence in recent history, and Trump’s own talent search to find a replacement.

His plans to do so could be further delayed by the Powell investigation launched by the DOJ, as two Republican senators (Thom Tillis and Lisa Murkowski) have resolved to place a hold on nominations for Powell’s replacement until the probe is concluded.

“If there were any remaining doubt whether advisers within the Trump Administration are actively pushing to end the independence of the Federal Reserve, there should now be none,” Tillis wrote on X.

In July of last year, Trump said it was “highly unlikely” that he would fire the Fed chair. But that only came after he reportedly polled Republican lawmakers on the question and even showed them a draft letter of a termination notice intended for Powell.

“No, we're not planning on doing anything,” Trump said at the time. “So he's doing a lousy job. But no, I'm not talking about that. We get, fortunately, we get to make a change in the next, what, eight months or so, and we'll pick somebody that's good.”