Trump admin expands Fed chair search to three more candidates

Both Federal Reserve vice chairs, Michelle Bowman and Philip Jefferson, as well as Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan are under consideration to serve as the next chair of the central bank, Bloomberg News reported on Monday, citing two administration officials.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is leading a search for a successor to Fed Chair Jerome Powell, whom President Trump has pushed all year, in vain, to cut rates.

Candidates previously known to be on his list include National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett, former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh and current Fed Governor Christopher Waller, with the list expanded recently to also encompass St. Louis Fed President James Bullard and Marc Sumerlin, a former economic adviser to President George W. Bush.

Hassett, Warsh, Waller and Bowman have all signaled support for lower rates, with Waller and Bowman both dissenting in July against the Fed’s decision to leave rates unchanged.

Logan, by contrast, has consistently been more hawkish, most recently signaling her skepticism about lowering interest rates while inflation remains elevated. Jefferson has never given any indication of differences between his and Powell’s policy views.