(Bloomberg) — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent played down speculation that President Donald Trump may consider an early move to nominate a successor to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, pointing to one potential timeline that could see a name emerge in October or November.
“I don’t think anyone is necessarily talking about that,” Bessent said when asked in a CNBC interview Friday about the potential for Trump to name a so-called shadow Fed chair.
Bessent pointed out that there are two scheduled openings on the Fed board early next year: Adriana Kugler’s term is up in January, and Powell’s term as the chair concludes in May. Powell has a separate term as a board member, and that stretches to 2028. Powell himself declined to say earlier this month whether he would consider remaining on the board once his chairmanship concluded.
“So, Chair Powell doesn’t have to leave — he could stay on the board, not as chair,” Bessent noted.
If that happened, and Trump opted not to choose any existing board member as chair, the administration would need to use Kugler’s slot for the chairmanship, a scenario that Bessent referenced.
“So there is a chance that the person who is going to become the chair could be appointed in January, which would probably mean an October, November nomination,” Bessent said.
The Treasury chief also noted that Trump is “obviously worried that the Fed is behind the curve again” in failing to resume interest-rate cuts this year despite inflation being “way down.”
Asked about his own potential candidacy to become Fed chair, Bessent said, “Look, I’ll do what the president wants, but I think I have the best job in Washington.”
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