Trump narrows Fed chair picks, January decision expected

Ahead of the New Year’s holiday, President Donald Trump said he will make a decision on who he wants to lead the Federal Reserve by January. 

Current Chair Jerome Powell’s term expires in May 2026, and he has made it clear he will fulfill his obligation running the central bank. 

This week, Trump continued his verbal assault of Powell, who he again called “too late” for failing to cut interest rates at a faster pace. He also called him “a fool” and criticized him for the renovation of the Fed’s Washington, D.C., headquarters, which has run over budget. 

FOX Business takes a look at the shortlist of the contenders, which has narrowed to four, according to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who helped vet the candidates. 

Some have connections to the central bank and the White House, while another holds a top spot at the world’s largest asset manager. 

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Kevin Hassett 

Hassett, reported to be one of the top two picks, is on his second spin through Trump’s orbit. He is the director of the National Economic Council. In the first Trump administration, he was a senior advisor and chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors. Both agencies work in tandem with the White House on economic policies.  

After the U.S. economy posted growth of 4.3% in the third quarter, Hassett took a victory lap for the White House. “Trump policies are working, and they are very visibly working because we have seen the data,” he said during an interview on FOX Business Network’s “Kudlow” following the report. 

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Kevin Warsh 

The former Federal Reserve governor, who joins Hassett as a leading contender for Fed chair, has been a longtime critic of the central bank.

“I think their track record is really quite poor in forecasting the growth of the economy from policies like the ones the president put in place. And their inflation forecasts have been terrible, too. That’s why they were so late, and that’s why we had this surge of inflation that’s done the most harm to the hardest-working Americans among us. So, that track record, I think, still matters,” he said during a recent appearance on “Maria Bartiromo’s Wall Street.” 

Rick Rieder 

Rick Rieder, BlackRock’s chief investment officer of global fixed income, oversees $3.2 trillion in customer assets for the world’s largest asset manager. BlackRock has more than $10 trillion under management. During an interview with FOX Business’ Liz Claman in December, Rieder declined to comment on possibly heading the Fed, instead referring back to what he said when he was last on FBN.

“When I first heard it, I thought it’d be the greatest honor of my life. I mean, to actually be considered in a position like that and think about the responsibility, and quite frankly, what I thought about is the ability, and I think why serving your country is such a powerful dynamic, is the ability to help people through monetary policy, through economic transmission, is really powerful,” he said in August. 

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Christopher Waller 

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Waller, along with colleague Michelle Bowman, were among the early Fed dissenters in July voting for rate cuts. The duo signaled a growing divide within the Federal Reserve, which has come under fire for waiting too long to cut rates amid higher inflation and a slowing labor market. 

In December, Waller agreed to a 0.25 point rate cut by the Fed. This marked the third rate cut of the year. In the minutes of the last meeting, released on December 30, the number of expected rate cuts in 2026 remains uncertain. 

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FOX Business’ Eric Revell and Edward Lawrence contributed to this report, which was updated on 12-30-25 to reflect the list of candidates and President Trump’s timing on a pick.