Who will be the next Federal Reserve Chair? "Mentioning" Bessonett again—Is Trump "joking" or "dropping hints"?

Speculation surrounding the next Federal Reserve Chair has reignited due to the latest comments from US President Trump.

According to recent media reports, while visiting Japan on Tuesday, Trump told business leaders he is “considering” appointing current Treasury Secretary Besant as Federal Reserve Chair. Trump praised Besant’s ability to “calm” financial markets and contrasted this with his own tendency to sometimes “disrupt the markets.”

During his speech, Trump did not hide his admiration for Besant’s market communication skills. He stated: “How good is he on TV? He can calm the markets. I cannot calm the markets; sometimes I disrupt the markets.”

Although Besant has publicly stated he is not interested in the position and is currently in charge of the selection process, his name continues to come up repeatedly. Whether Trump’s seemingly impromptu nomination was deliberate or offhand, it adds more suspense to the ultimate choice.

Within the Trump administration, Besant is widely regarded externally as a “restraining force” on the president. This stands in sharp contrast to Trump’s attitude toward Powell. Trump has called Powell a “fool” and repeatedly threatened to fire him. Such direct attacks on Fed officials have sparked widespread concerns about the central bank’s independence.

Therefore, Trump’s emphasis on Besant as the “calmer” highlights the qualities he may be looking for in the next Fed Chair—someone who can both carry out his preferred policies and effectively manage market sentiment.

However, Trump’s comments quickly took a turn. He then added that Besant will not accept the job because “he likes staying at the Treasury.” Afterwards, he appeared to backtrack entirely, stating “We’re not really considering him.”

This series of contradictory statements is made all the more nuanced by the fact that Besant is currently leading the search for Powell’s successor himself.

Selection enters key phase, five-person shortlist emerges

The search to replace Powell is now at a crucial stage. Powell’s term ends in May 2026, while the Besant-led selection process has been ongoing for several weeks.

Wall Street News mentions that the list of candidates has now been cut to five: Fed Governors Waller and Bowman, Trump economic adviser Hassett, BlackRock strategist Rick Rieder, and former Fed Governor Walsh.

It is widely expected that Trump will make a final decision between Thanksgiving at the end of November and Christmas at the end of December.

Early intervention in decision-making? “New Fed Chair” likely to participate in the March and April rate decisions next year

Wall Street News reports that Trump is accelerating the process of selecting the next Fed Chair, aiming to finalize a choice before the end of this year. This unusually fast timeline could allow the White House to exert earlier influence over monetary policy.

Nick Timiraos from the “New Federal Reserve News Agency” analyzes that the new Chair will likely fill the seat currently held by Milan. This means Trump could arrange for the incoming Chair to participate in the March and April rate-setting meetings before the official term begins in mid-May, allowing the new Chair to start impacting policy direction ahead of taking full leadership at the Fed.

Policy outlook amid calls for rate cuts

No matter who ultimately leads the Fed, they will face a policy climate filled with calls for rate cuts.

The Fed already cut rates by 25 basis points in September this year due to signs of weakness in the labor market. Markets expect officials to approve another similar cut this Wednesday, lowering the federal funds rate target range to 3.75%–4%.

Notably, not just Trump, but his allies and even Besant himself have been advocates of rate cuts. Milan, the new Fed Governor and Trump ally, was the sole member who voted last month for a 50 basis point rate cut, believing that rates should be lowered by a further 125 basis points before year-end.

Besant himself stated prior to the Fed’s August rate cut this year that borrowing costs needed to be lowered by 150 basis points.

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