Trump says Scott Bessent no longer in the running for Fed chair
Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent speaks to reporters during the weekly luncheons at Capitol Hill on June 24 in Washington
By Elisabeth Buchwald, CNN
(CNN) — President Donald Trump said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is no longer being considered as a replacement for Jerome Powell as Federal Reserve Chair.
“I love Scott, but he wants to stay where he is,” Trump said Tuesday in a CNBC interview Tuesday morning. “I’ll take him off, because I asked him just last night, ‘Is this something you want? Nope, I want to say where I am.’”
Trump said he’s considering former Fed governor Kevin Warsh, top White House economist Kevin Hassett and two other people for the position.
Fed Governor Adriana Kugler submitted her resignation on Friday, opening up a position for Trump to fill. Trump told CNBC that whomever he picks to replace Kugler will be in the position for just four months.
“I’m going to be announcing that very shortly,” Trump said in a Tuesday interview on CNBC. “It’ll be for the four months, you know, for the short period of time,” he added.
Trump also said his pick for Fed governor could end up being his pick for Fed chair when Jerome Powell’s term expires next year.
Hassett said Monday on CNBC that Bessent is helping lead Trump’s search for Fed chair.
Bessent has also been spearheading trade negotiations. Last week he traveled to Sweden to meet with Chinese trade officials to discuss extending the current tariff rates in place on both countries’ goods. This comes as there’s a looming August 12 deadline for the two sides to extend rates or face higher tariffs.
This is a developing story. It will be updated.
The-CNN-Wire
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