Kevin Hassett has now reportedly solidified his stance as the frontrunner to replace Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell with US President Donald Trump’s blessing. People familiar with the development on this front are positive that the White House National Economic Council director has toppled other top choices to take the lead as the American leader’s favourite name in the race, according to Bloomberg.
Over a week ago, Trump himself curtly said, “I think I already know my choice.” However, he didn’t point his finger at anyone at the time. Back in September, named his top three candidates for the job: Kevin Hassett, ex-Fed official Kevin Warsh and central bank governor Christopher Waller.
Who is Kevin Hassett?
The American economist took office as the director of the National Economic Council as Trump was sworn in as the 47th president of the USA. In addition to stepping up as a key ally to the Republican politician, he previously served as a top economic advisor to John McCain, George W Bush and Mitt Romney during their respective presidential campaigns.
Hassett’s other prior alliances with Trump included him serving as the chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors during the president’s first administration. Even at the time, he emerged as a key personality influencing Trump’s decision to ground immigration policy on the basis of skills. On top of that, Hassett has also worked for presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner’s private equity firm.
During Trump’s second administration, the top economic advisor backed tariff regime. Earlier this year, he said in an ABC News interview the duties were being used to unleash a “drug war, not a trade war” with Canada and Mexico.
As a Greenfield native, Hassett was first confirmed by the U.S. Senate on September 12th and sworn in as the 29th Chairman on September 13, 2017, according to the Harvard Kennedy School. Before taking on the ECA chairman role, he stayed on as an economist at the American Enterprise Institute since 1997.
At one point, Hassett settled in as a senior economist at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and an associate professor of economics and finance at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business of Columbia University. In the past, he even took on the role of a visiting professor at New York University’s Law School.
After graduating from Greenfield High School, Hassett pursued higher studies at Swarthmore College and the University of Pennsylvania, as per MassLive.com.
In addition to being listed as one of Trump’s top three picks, Scott Bessent also named him as one of the five front-running choices for the Fed chair job. These were as follows: Kevin Hassett, Christopher Waller, Kevin Warsh, Rick Rieder and Michelle Bowman.
Trump vs Powell
With Trump having long called out Powell for being “too late” in terms of the interest-rate cutting process, these people firmly believe that Hassett will acquiesce the POTUS’ desires. However, nothing is set in stone at the moment, as Trump is notoriously known for flipping positions in surprise moves at the last minute. Even White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt had said, “nobody actually knows what President Trump will do until he does it.”
Despite these sources suggesting that Hassett may end up playing a crucial role in boosting the Republican leader’s influencer on the central bank, the future may not flesh out as Trump covets. For the unversed, a major reminder hinting at that is most prominently reflected in the Trump-Powell relationship. Although the 79-year-old president has taken one too many swipes at the current Fed chair for not lower interest rates as per Trump’s wishes, he did nominate him during his first term.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who is leading the selection process for the next Federal Reserve boss, recently revealed the potential timeline for Trump’s announcement. He told CNBC that the MAGA leader is highly likely to disclose Jerome Powell’s official replacement before Christmas this year.
While Powell’s term as the Fed chair runs out of fumes in May 2026, he could still stay on the board as a governor for two more years.
