Trump's team has decided on a favorite to become Fed chairman - Bloomberg

Christopher Waller, now on the Fed's Board of Governors, is seen as one of the favorites to take over as regulator after Jerome Powell, sources told Bloomberg. Waller has already secured the support of Donald Trump's team, although he has not yet met with him personally. He favors lowering rates, but based on economic factors rather than political pressure, and is known as an advocate of Fed independence.

Fed Board of Governors member Christopher Waller is becoming the White House's preferred candidate to be the next U.S. Fed chairman, reported Bloomberg, citing sources.

According to the agency's sources, Waller has already held meetings with Donald Trump's team, which evaluated him positively, although he has not yet met with the president himself. Trump's advisers are impressed with Waller's willingness to make monetary policy decisions based on forecasts rather than current data, as well as his deep understanding of the entire Fed system, Bloomberg sources said.

Besides Waller, according to Bloomberg, White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett and former Board of Governors member Kevin Warsh, who are as much in favor of lowering rates as Trump, remain among the candidates being considered for the Fed chairmanship.

Waller could replace current Fed chief Jerome Powell, whom Trump has repeatedly criticized for refusing to cut interest rates. Although the U.S. president has dropped threats to fire Powell before his term ends on May 15, 2026, the search process for a replacement has intensified, noted Reuters.

Trump's new nominee will be carefully evaluated in terms of his ability to conduct monetary policy without succumbing to political pressure - the very independence that economists say is at the heart of central banks' ability to fight inflation and maintain financial stability in the U.S. economy, Reuters explains.

"President Trump will continue to nominate the most competent and experienced candidates to fulfill his promise to Make America Rich Again," White House spokesman Kush Desai told Reuters in a statement. - However, unless the information comes from President Trump himself, any talk of staff appointments should be considered pure speculation."

Trump is pushing for a rate cut to reduce the federal government's borrowing costs. In July, Waller voted in favor of a rate cut, opposing the decision to keep rates unchanged - along with Fed Deputy Chair Michelle Bowman, also a Trump appointee, recalls Reuters.

However, Waller promotes policy easing for other reasons: the official believes that the duties will not exert significant inflationary pressure, and the slowdown in the labor market requires additional support, emphasizes Reuters. At the same time, Waller fundamentally rejects the approach in which the rate should be set with an eye on the interests of the Ministry of Finance and the reduction of the national debt. In addition, his first public speech as governor Waller devoted to the defense of the independence of the Federal Reserve, which may also reduce concerns about his political engagement, adds Reuters.

Trump on Thursday, Aug. 7, announced that he has chosen Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Stephen Miran to be Fed governor. Miran, if his nomination is approved by the Senate, will fill the vacant seat of the resigned Adriana Kugler and will remain in office only until the end of her term, which expires Jan. 31, reported Bloomberg.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor