President Donald Trump said on Nov. 30 that he has already decided on his pick to replace Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, adding that an announcement is forthcoming, but declining to identify his nominee.
“I know who I am going to pick, yeah,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on his way back from Florida to Washington on Sunday.
When asked whether he would nominate National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, the current frontrunner to replace Powell according to betting markets, Trump smiled and replied, “I’m not going to tell you, we’ll be announcing it.”
Trump appointed Powell to lead the Fed in 2017. The president has become increasingly critical of the central bank chief in recent months, however, repeatedly lambasting Powell and Fed policymakers for refusing to lower interest rates even though inflation has fallen substantially from its 2022 peak of 9 percent and signs of strain are emerging in the economy….