Kevin Hassett and Warsh Emerge as Strong Contenders
Two Candidates for Kugler's Successor to Be Decided This Week
On August 5 (local time), U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he had narrowed down the list of candidates for the next Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair to four individuals, adding that two of them are named "Kevin."
President Trump made this statement in response to questions from reporters after signing an executive order at the White House that day.
The "two people named Kevin" mentioned by President Trump are believed to refer to Kevin Hassett, Chairman of the White House National Economic Council, and Kevin Warsh, former Fed Governor. Hassett served as a leading economic expert within the White House during the first Trump administration, while Warsh is a conservative economist who served as a Fed Governor during the George W. Bush administration.
The names of the "other two people" were not disclosed, but local media have identified Treasury Secretary Scott Besant and Fed Governor Christopher Waller as potential candidates. Secretary Besant, a longtime close associate of President Trump, was appointed Treasury Secretary in March of this year and has since led key economic policies.
However, President Trump clarified that while he is considering two other candidates, Secretary Besant is not among them. In a CNBC interview that morning, President Trump said that he had asked Secretary Besant about his intentions the previous night, but Besant expressed his desire to continue serving as Treasury Secretary.
President Trump also stated that he had "narrowed down" the candidates to succeed Adriana Kugler, the Fed Governor who recently resigned unexpectedly, to two people, and that he plans to make a decision within the week. He added that he would also decide whether the new appointee would start a fresh term or serve out the remaining four months of Kugler's term.
Kugler, who was appointed by President Joe Biden in 2023 as the first Latina woman to serve as a Fed Governor, resigned abruptly last week. While the White House did not specify the reasons for her resignation, some media outlets have cited political pressure or the possibility of negotiating her future role.
The nomination of the next Fed Chair will determine the successor to Jerome Powell, whose term expires in May of next year. President Trump had previously criticized Powell harshly and even raised the possibility of his dismissal during his first term. The selection of the next Fed Chair is seen as a key appointment that will indicate the direction of economic policy in a potential second Trump administration.
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