Trump names Warsh, Hassett as top Fed contenders, WSJ says
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Mr Kevin Warsh (left), a former Fed governor, has climbed up the list of contenders to challenge Mr Kevin Hassett, whom many had seen as the frontrunner for the job.
PHOTOS: BLOOMBERG, REUTERS
Follow topic:
WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump said that Mr Kevin Hassett and Mr Kevin Warsh are his top choices to lead the US Federal Reserve, and that he expects the next chair of the central bank to consult with him on interest rates.
Mr Trump, in an interview with the Wall Street Journal on Dec 12, indicated that Mr Warsh, a former Fed governor, has climbed up the short list of contenders to challenge Mr Hassett, the White House National Economic Council head whom many had seen as the frontrunner for the job.
“I think the two Kevins are great,” he said. “I think there are a couple of other people that are great.”
Mr Trump previously signalled that he already made up his mind, saying on Dec 8 that he had a “a pretty good idea” of who to nominate.
The president in November also said he knew who he would pick for the job.
The latest comments suggest that the selection process remains in flux.
Mr Trump met Mr Warsh on Dec 10. It is not clear if he plans to interview other candidates for the job.
The president said Mr Warsh told him that borrowing costs should be lower.
Later in the Oval Office, Mr Trump said the next Fed chair should consult with him on interest rates, a move that would upend a tradition of the Fed’s independence.
“I’ve been very successful, and I think my role should be at least that of recommending – they don’t have to follow what I say,” he told reporters, adding he expected to make a choice “over the next few weeks”.
“I think my voice should be heard, but I’m not going to make the decision based on that,” he continued.
JPMorgan Chase & Co CEO Jamie Dimon said on Dec 11 that he saw Mr Hassett as more likely to cut rates in the near term, while he concurred with Mr Warsh’s writings on the Fed, the Financial Times reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
Mr Dimon was speaking at the bank’s closed-door event for asset management CEOs in New York, the paper said.
Mr Warsh would “make a great chairman,” American weekly publication Barron’s quoted Mr Dimon as saying at the same event.
Mr Trump has moved to assert control over the central bank in his second term, regularly expressing frustration that the Fed has not more aggressively reduced borrowing costs under Chair Jerome Powell.
Mr Trump, in the Journal interview, called for aggressively lowering rates, saying they should be “1 per cent and maybe lower than that”.
The Fed on Dec 10 lowered its benchmark rate to between 3.5 per cent and 3.75 per cent, its third cut in as many meetings.
Three central bank officials dissented from the decision and the Federal Open Market Committee remains undecided about further reductions. BLOOMBERG
