US President Donald Trump announced that he will announce the new appointment for the Federal Reserve chairman sometime next week.
Trump’s statement comes as current Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s term nears its end and political pressure on interest rate policy is steadily increasing.
In a post on his Truth Social account, Trump harshly criticized the Fed, arguing that it hadn’t lowered interest rates fast enough. Trump stated, “We should have a much lower interest rate right now, since even this moron admits inflation is no longer a problem or a threat.” However, Powell did not define inflation in this way and continued to emphasize that risks to price stability had not completely disappeared.
While the identity of the new Fed chairman remains unclear, Powell sent a noteworthy message to his successor yesterday. Responding to a journalist’s question, Powell indirectly warned his successor to stay out of politics, emphasizing the critical importance of protecting central bank independence. Powell’s message is seen as an important framework for the new chairman, who will take office at a time when political demands for interest rates to fall to “near zero” levels are expected to intensify.
Meanwhile, on the crypto-based prediction platform Polymarket, bets on who Trump will choose as FED chairman have intensified. According to the platform’s data, Rick Rieder is priced in as the most likely candidate (approximately 39%), followed by Kevin Warsh (30%) and Christopher Waller (13%). Other candidates, including Kevin Hassett, Judy Shelton, Scott Bessent, Stephen Miran, and Michelle Bowman, are priced in with lower probabilities.
*This is not investment advice.