US Treasury Secretary Begins Interviews for Next Fed Chair... Says BLS Director's Dismissal Was Overdue

MSNBC Interview

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Besant announced that the process to select the next Chair of the Federal Reserve (Fed) has begun.

EPA Yonhap News

In an interview with MSNBC on the 7th (local time), Secretary Besant stated regarding the selection of the next Fed Chair, "I am assisting the President in the selection process and have already started the interview procedures," adding, "There are many excellent candidates."

In relation to this, Bloomberg reported on the same day that Fed Governor Christopher Waller recently met with President Trump's aides and is emerging as a strong contender for the next Fed Chair.

Regarding speculation that he himself was among the candidates for the next Fed Chair, Secretary Besant explained that two days ago he conveyed to President Donald Trump his desire to continue serving as Treasury Secretary.

The current term of Fed Chair Jerome Powell expires in May 2026. President Trump has repeatedly expressed dissatisfaction and maintained pressure on Chair Powell, who has persisted in holding the benchmark interest rate steady and refused to lower rates despite Trump's requests. With the recent resignation of Fed Governor Adriana Kugler, who is considered a hawkish (monetary tightening) figure, a successor is expected to be nominated, and there is also speculation that the selection of the next Fed Chair may take place.

Secretary Besant also actively defended President Trump's recent abrupt dismissal of Erica MacEntaffer, Director of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

He criticized, "The reorganization of the BLS should have happened a long time ago," and added, "The mistake they made last week was an extreme error equivalent to ±5 to 6 standard deviations. It's like thinking you boarded a flight from Miami to New York but ended up in Denver."

Previously, on the 1st, the BLS released the July employment report and revised down the employment figures for May and June to 19,000 and 14,000, respectively. This is significantly lower than the previously announced figures of 144,000 and 147,000, respectively. The July employment increase was also reported as 73,000, which is far below the market expectation of 106,000. President Trump dismissed Director MacEntaffer immediately after the report was released.

Regarding this, Secretary Besant stated, "The BLS needs to find a new way to collect data," and pointed out, "Expecting different results while working in the same old way is truly lazy."

He also criticized the Fed's decision to hold the benchmark interest rate steady on July 30, two days before the employment report revealing a slowdown in the labor market was released, saying, "Something is wrong." Secretary Besant argued, "Either the Fed's economists failed to properly interpret the BLS data, or the BLS data itself is distorted."

Meanwhile, as the reciprocal tariffs imposed by the United States on other countries officially took effect starting today, Secretary Besant stated, "Most trade agreements have been completed." He projected, "This year, tariff revenues could reach $300 billion," and added that tariff revenues could increase further in 2026.