In an appearance on CNBC’s Squawk Box on August 5, Trump stated that he is considering Kevin Hassett, his director of the National Economic Council, and Kevin Warsh, a former member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, for the position.
Trump has proposed four potential candidates to replace Powell, including Kevin Warsh, former Fed governor, and Kevin Hassett, White House National Economic Council director. The other two contenders’ names remain unknown as of now.
Although he excluded Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent from consideration, President Donald Trump stated that he has four candidates in mind to succeed Fed Chair Jerome Powell in May 2026. Powell remains a member of the Fed’s board until the end of 2028, despite his tenure as chairman expiring in 2026.
Trump has been complaining for months that the Fed is not lowering interest rates despite his pleas for them to do so. However, Trump has refrained from firing Powell despite his frequent threats to do so. Trump has emphasized that the end of Powell’s term presents an opportunity to choose his replacement.
Adriana Kugler, another member of the seven-member Federal Reserve Board of Governors, said on August 1 that she was leaving the board, providing Trump with another chance to name a candidate he believes is more inclined to lower interest rates in his preferred manner. Kugler joined the seven-member board in 2023 and was scheduled to serve until January 2026. He was chosen by former President Joe Biden.
Dr. Kevin Hassett Profile
Dr. Kevin Hassett is the current Director of the National Economic Council in the United States. He previously served as the 29th Chairman of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers from 2017 to 2019 before returning to the White House as a Senior Advisor to President Trump to promote data-driven decision-making in response to the Coronavirus.
Hassett was a crucial driver of internal and external debate on nearly every economic topic throughout his tenure in the Trump administration, from taxes and trade to substance addiction and deregulation. Hassett served as the White House’s primary public speaker on economic policy and the state of the economy, appearing on Fox, Fox Business, CNBC, MSNBC, Bloomberg, CNN, and other networks. He was occasionally called upon to run the televised White House press briefings.
Kevin Warsh Profile
On February 24, 2006, Kevin M. Warsh was sworn into the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. He departed the Board on March 31, 2011. Warsh, born on April 13, 1970 in Albany, New York, studied public policy at Stanford University, with a focus on economics and statistics.
In 1995, Warsh joined Morgan Stanley & Co.’s mergers and acquisitions department, where he advised companies, structured transactions, and facilitated financing. In 2002, he joined President Bush’s administration, serving as special assistant for economic policy and executive secretary. For full profile, read here.