With the race to become the next Federal Reserve chairman approaching, US President Trump has praised several candidates, indicating that the competition is heating up.
On Thursday local time, Trump said he had met with Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller a day earlier and praised him as "great" .
When asked about his opinion of Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bauman, Trump described her as "fantastic." However, Trump did not explicitly confirm whether Bauman was among the final candidates.
Trump also said he is interviewing “three to four” candidates for the position of Federal Reserve Chairman and expects to decide soon who will succeed Powell .
"I think each of them is a good choice," Trump said.
Trump also said he was unsure whether he would announce his nominee before the end of the year, but that he would do so "in the coming weeks" .
Jerome Powell's term as Federal Reserve Chairman will end next May. Trump has previously stated that he will choose someone who supports monetary policy that promotes economic growth (i.e., supports interest rate cuts) to succeed Powell.
On Wednesday evening local time, Trump addressed the nation, stating that a new Federal Reserve chairman would be appointed soon and that he was a proponent of low interest rates.
Besides Waller and Bowman, other candidates for Federal Reserve Chair include White House economic advisor Kevin Hassett and former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh. Trump stated last week that these two are the frontrunners for the position.
According to the latest data, on the US prediction market Polymarket, Hassett still has the highest probability of being nominated by Trump as the Federal Reserve Chair, at 52%; followed by Warsh at 28%; and Waller ranks third at 14%.
Hassett welcomed the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report on Thursday. He said the report was surprisingly good and that the Federal Reserve has ample room to cut interest rates.
(Article source: CLS)
