US President Donald Trump said he will announce a new Federal Reserve governor and a new jobs data statistician in the coming days, two appointments that may shape his economic agenda amid anxiety over the trajectory of global growth, Bloomberg reports.
Trump made the comments to reporters Sunday on his way back to the White House from a weekend in Bedminster, New Jersey. He has faced criticism for his relentless attacks on the Fed and for firing Bureau of Labor Statistics chief Erika McEntarfer after data showed weak jobs growth — moves that are seen as undermining institutions typically viewed as free from political influence.
For the Fed, the president said he has a “couple of people in mind” for the role that opened up after Adriana Kugler announced Friday that she would vacate her board of governors seat, which wasn’t due to expire until January. Her exit handed Trump a sooner-than-anticipated opportunity to appoint a governor who more closely aligns with his preference for lower interest rates.
National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh, current Fed Governor Christopher Waller and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent have all been floated as contenders to lead the central bank. Trump’s nominee for the open governorship could move into the chairman role when Jerome Powell’s term expires in May.
Kugler’s departure unfolds amid unprecedented public pressure from the White House on the central bank over interest rates, with Trump regularly launching personal insults at Powell. Trump has called the Fed chief “TOO ANGRY, TOO STUPID, & TOO POLITICAL” for persistently refusing to vote to lower rates, and he has demanded Powell’s resignation.
