Trump Says Fed Chair Pick Will Come Next Year, Delaying Expected Timeline

President Donald Trump speaks at a meeting of his cabinet on Tuesday. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Key Points

• President Donald Trump indicated the next Federal Reserve chair will be announced early next year, later than had been expected.
• The search for the next Fed chair has been narrowed to one finalist, widely believed to be Kevin Hassett.
• Current Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s term expires in May, but his term as governor extends until 2028.

President Donald Trump signaled Tuesday that he doesn’t plan to name the next chair of the Federal Reserve until early next year, pushing back expectations after hints that a decision was imminent.

The shift comes as Trump said the White House’s search has narrowed to a single finalist, which many Fed watchers believe to be National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett.

During a cabinet meeting, Trump said the administration would be “announcing somebody probably early next year.” An announcement had been expected as soon as this month.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said just last week that there was a “very good chance” of an announcement before Christmas. Trump himself said this weekend that he had made up his mind about the next Fed chair, a remark that led analysts to expect a nomination as soon as this week.

Trump reiterated on Tuesday that the candidate field had been whittled from 10 names to one. He didn’t disclose the finalist, but confirmed that Bessent is unlikely to be under consideration. The president said on Tuesday he “talked to Scott about taking the job, but he doesn’t want it.”

While Hassett is widely viewed as the front-runner for the role, other names under consideration include Fed governors Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman, former Fed governor Kevin Warsh, and BlackRock executive Rick Rieder.

Investors will now likely head into the year-end with less visibility into the future of Fed leadership and the direction of monetary policy.

Under current rules, the Fed chair must be drawn from the pool of existing governors. That means if the White House were to nominate someone who isn’t already on the board, the person would first have to be confirmed as governor. They would likely replace governor Stephen Miran, whose term ends in January.

Current Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s position expires in May, but his term as governor doesn’t end until 2028.

Write to Nicole Goodkind at nicole.goodkind@barrons.com.