Trump Says He Has Chosen the Next Fed Chair, BlackRock Executive Emerges as a "Dark Horse"

BlockBeats News, January 23, U.S. President Trump stated that he has completed interviews with candidates for the next Federal Reserve Chair and hinted that the final choice is a "very respected, extremely well-known" heavyweight figure who will succeed the current Chair Powell, whose term ends in May this year.

Trump revealed that there is "almost only one person" left in his mind for the final selection, but did not disclose a specific name. The current public list of candidates includes National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, BlackRock Head of Fixed Income Rick Rieder, current Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller, and former Governor Kevin Warsh. Among them, Trump has hinted that Hassett is more likely to continue working at the White House.

It is worth noting that after Trump recently publicly praised BlackRock executive Rieder as "impressive," his nomination momentum has clearly increased. Prediction market Kalshi shows that Rieder's probability of being nominated has risen to 33%, about twice that of earlier this week, while ten days ago the probability was only 3%. Nevertheless, former Federal Reserve Governor Warsh still leads with a 45% probability, but his advantage has narrowed.

The tense relationship between Trump and Powell continues. Trump has repeatedly criticized Powell for being "too slow" on rate cuts and has downplayed the impact of Powell remaining on the Federal Reserve Board after his term as Chair ends. Treasury Secretary Bessent previously stated that Trump may announce the final decision next week. The market generally believes that the new Federal Reserve Chair will have a significant impact on the direction of U.S. monetary policy and global financial markets.