Donald Trump, president of the United States (US), yesterday, November 19, redoubled his criticism of the president of the Federal Reserve (Fed), Jerome Powell, for not cutting interest rates faster, and stated: “I’ll be honest, I would love to fire him.”
Trump, in a speech at a Saudi-backed investment forum in Washington, urged Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to accelerate the search for a successor to Powell, whose term as Fed Chairman ends in May and as Fed governor ends in 2028.
“You have to work on him, Scott. The only thing Scott is failing at is the Federal Reserve,” Trump said of Bessent, who was in the audience at the event held at the Kennedy Center in Washington.
“The rates are too high, Scott, and if you don’t fix it quickly, I’m going to fire you,” Trump said, jokingly.
The next President is likely to be appointed to a 14-year term as Fed governor, beginning on February 1.
Bessent, who is leading the search for a new Fed Chairman, told Fox News on Tuesday that Trump plans to meet with the three finalists for the job after Thanksgiving on Nov. 27, and that the new candidate will likely be announced before Christmas.
Bessent has named five finalists: White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett; former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh; the current governor of the Fed, Christopher Waller; the Vice President of Central Bank Supervision, Michelle Bowman, and the BlackRock executive, Rick Rieder.
