Trump considering 11 names for next Fed chair: Report

ISTANBUL

US President Donald Trump is considering 11 candidates to head the Federal Reserve once the current chair Jerome Powell's tenure ends in May, business news broadcaster CNBC reported Wednesday.

According to administration sources, the names include three that have not been publicly named before: Jefferies Chief Market Strategist David Zervos, former Fed Governor Larry Lindsey, and Rick Rieder, chief investment officer for global fixed income at BlackRock.

They join eight additional candidates, including Fed Governor Chris Waller, Fed Vice Chair Philip Jefferson, and Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman, all of whom CNBC says it verified as candidates under consideration.

Contenders for the top role, according to the source, also include former St. Louis Fed President James Bullard, Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan, and Bush administration economic advisor Marc Summerlin.

In a recent interview with CNBC, Trump stated that former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh and National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett were also on his list.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will be interviewing each applicant to narrow down the field and provide Trump with the final list for his consideration, according to the officials' description of a "deliberative process."

The length of the list and the procedure outlined indicate that a choice is unlikely to be made right away and may take some time. However, authorities refused to provide a timeline.

The likelihood of a so-called "shadow fed chair" remaining in place for a few months before Powell departs, which some have said would be disruptive for monetary policy, decreases with the length of the process.

Relations between Powell and Trump has been sour, as Trump has repeatedly demanded the Fed cut interest rates, citing moves by European central banks and warned that delays could stall the US economy.

Despite the political pressure, the Fed has kept rates constant for the last five meetings.

Trump has retracted claims he could replace the current Fed chair before his tenure ends in May, despite directing harsh criticism of Powell almost daily.

The majority of the candidates respect the Fed's independence and have monetary policy and financial market expertise, even if several have called for different degrees of reform at the Fed.

Powell's term expires in May 2026. He was appointed to the post in 2017 by Trump and nominated for a second term by former President Joe Biden.