President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he is nearing the end of the search to replace Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, suggesting he has a candidate in mind.
In an interview with CNBC at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the president said the search, which began in September and at one point included up to 11 candidates, is nearly complete.
“I think we’re down to three, but we’re down to two. And all I can say is, in my mind, we’re probably down to one,” the president told CNBC’s Joe Kernen. Still, Trump declined to name the person.
The list of candidates included past and present Fed officials, economists, and Wall Street investors.
The finalists were widely believed to be former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh, current Fed Governor Christopher Waller, National Economic Council Chairman Kevin Hassett, and BlackRock fixed income chief Rick Rieder. In the interview, President Trump praised all the candidates, calling the last leader he interviewed “impressive.”
President Trump has said in recent days that he would prefer for Hassett to remain on the NEC, which would likely remove him from contention. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent led the interview process. President Trump has expressed support for Bessent to take the Fed seat in the past, but said Wednesday that “Mr. Scott just wants to stay where he is.”
The Fed chair’s statement was the latest in a series of dramatic twists and turns after a year of unprecedented turmoil for the central bank.
Trump heavily criticized Powell and his colleagues during his first term, from 2017 to 2021, but ramped up the pressure significantly in 2025. That included further verbal attacks on policymakers, as well as threats to fire Mr. Powell and an actual attempt to fire Gov. Lisa Cook, a move that was the subject of a Supreme Court hearing earlier Wednesday on the president’s authority over the agency.
With Powell’s removal as chairman now almost certain, the question now shifts to whether he will stay on for another two years to complete the remainder of his term. If Mr. Powell remains in office, he will continue to have a say in monetary policy and interest rates, potentially providing a bulwark against Mr. Trump’s efforts to control Fed decisions.
Mr. Trump expressed indifference to Mr. Powell’s decision.
“How do we live and accept the cards we’re dealt?” he said. “If that happened, I don’t think his life would be very, very happy, that’s not the point. I think he wants to get out. He hasn’t had a good job.”
President Trump once again criticized Chairman Powell over plans to renovate the Federal Reserve’s headquarters, which will cost more than $2.5 billion. The Justice Department subpoenaed Powell regarding the project.
“It could have been done for $25 million, and it would have been a lot better than what they’re doing,” Trump said.
