The Trump administration is evaluating 11 candidates to replace Federal Reserve (Fed) Chairman Jerome Powell when his term ends in May, including three names that have never been revealed before, according to undisclosed sources.
The three new names are David Zervos, Chief Market Strategist at Jefferies; former Fed Governor Larry Lindsey; and Rick Rieder, Chief Global Fixed Income Investment Officer at BlackRock. According to CNBC, they now join a list of eight other confirmed candidates under consideration, including Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman, Fed Governor Chris Waller, and Fed Vice Chairman Philip Jefferson. The official also confirmed the list includes Marc Summerlin, a former economic adviser to President Bush; Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan; and former St. Louis Fed President James Bullard.
President Trump recently said that Kevin Hassett, Director of the National Economic Council, and former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh, are also on his list. The process, the official said, is described as a “deliberative” process in which Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will interview all candidates, vet the list, and submit a final list to the president for a decision. The size of the list and the process suggest that a decision will not be made anytime soon, and no official timeline has been given.
The longer this process takes, the less likely it is that a “shadow Fed chair” will emerge to act as a replacement before Powell steps down, something that could disrupt monetary policy. Despite criticizing Powell almost daily, Trump has now abandoned his proposal to replace him before his term ends.
Most of the candidates on this list have advocated some level of reform of the Fed, but the majority support the institution’s independence and have experience in monetary policy and financial markets.
