Trump Treasury pick reveals whether Fed Chair Powell will finish term
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will serve out the remainder of his first term in charge of the U.S. Central Bank, according to President-elect Trump's pick for Treasury secretary.
Hedge fund manager Scott Bessent told CNBC that he is "in complete agreement" with Trump "that Jay Powell will serve out his term." Bessent spoke to the outlet after meeting with Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, as he visits with senators ahead of his confirmation hearing to be the next head of the Treasury Department.
Bessent's comments affirm what Trump himself said in an interview with NBC's Kristen Welker on Sunday. Though he has criticized Powell for keeping interest rates high — a move the Fed argues is needed to keep inflation in check — Trump said he has no plans to attempt to fire Powell or pressure him to resign once he returns to office in January.
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"No, I don't think so," Trump told Welker after she asked whether he would fire the Federal Reserve chairman. "I don't see it. But I don't— I think if I told him to, he would. But if I asked him to, he probably wouldn't. But if I told him to, he would."
Bessent, who is CEO for Key Square Group LP, has also voiced criticism of Powell, but unlike Trump, has argued Powell should have kept interest rates higher to stave off inflation.
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"If only Powell had refrained from signaling rate cuts in December and stuck to the "higher for longer" script, the economy could have slowed sufficiently to allow actual rate cuts in the coming months," Bessent wrote in a May op-ed for FOX Business. "Undoubtedly, the Fed will still be under tremendous political pressure to do so ahead of the November election, but rate cuts are likely off the table indefinitely with inflation so high."
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Powell's current term in office is set to expire in 2026. Trump appointed Powell to a four-year term overseeing the Fed in 2018, and President Biden reappointed him to another term in 2022.
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Powell has indicated that Trump does not have the legal authority to force him out of office early and has said he would not resign if asked to do so.