Dec 1, 2025 - Business

Trump says he's picked who he wants to lead the Fed

Rebecca Falconer

President Trump, wearing a navy jacket with a US flag pin at the top of his left lapel, white shirt and purple paisley tie, leans on the left of his white cabin entrance, speaks to media members, some of whom are carrying cameras and holding out phones, aboard Air Force One. — President Trump speaks to journalists aboard Air Force One while traveling from Florida to Joint Base Andrews on Nov. 30. Photo: Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

President Trump said Sunday he's decided who he'll nominate to be the next Federal Reserve chair, but he wouldn't be drawn on whether the pick is National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett.

The big picture: Current Fed Chair Jerome Powell has faced months of complaints and demands from Trump to lower interest rates and his term is due to expire in May.

What he's saying: "I know who I am going to pick, yeah. We'll be announcing it," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One while traveling from Florida to Joint Base Andrews.

Asked whether Hassett is his pick for Fed chair, Trump smiled and said: "I'm not telling you, we'll be announcing it."

Zoom out: Hassett played down reports suggesting he's a front-runner to lead the Fed during interviews on Sunday, telling both CBS and Fox News that the news for markets was that Trump is close to announcing a candidate to replace Powell.

"Once it became clear that the president's getting closer to make a decision, the markets really celebrated, interest rates went down, we had one of our best treasury auctions ever," Hassett said on "Fox and Friends Weekend."
"So, I think that the market expects that there's going to be a new person at the Fed, and they expect that President Trump's going to pick a new one. And if he picks me, I'd be happy to serve."

Go deeper: What to know about Trump's finalists to replace Powell as Fed chair

Add Axios on Google

Trump says he's picked who he wants to lead the Fed

What to read next