Trump blasted his old Treasury guy, Steven Mnuchin, for recommending Jerome Powell to run the Federal Reserve, and the president basically threatened to fire his current Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, if he cannot get the Fed to slash interest rates faster. Kevin Hassett from the National Economic Council seems like the frontrunner to replace Powell when his term ends, but Trump keeps flip-flopping on the announcement while complaining that borrowing costs are not dropping fast enough despite inflation ticking back up from tariffs.
Bessent is stuck trying to find someone who will be the rate-cutting dove Trump wants, and the whole search has turned into a loyalty test where candidates have to publicly audition by promising cheaper loans. Trump already installed advisor Stephen Miran onto the Fed board after one governor bounced early, and he tried forcing out another governor over mortgage fraud accusations before the Supreme Court blocked him.
Bessent is stuck trying to find someone who will be the rate-cutting dove Trump wants, and the whole search has turned into a loyalty test where candidates have to publicly audition by promising cheaper loans. Trump already installed advisor Stephen Miran onto the Fed board after one governor bounced early, and he tried forcing out another governor over mortgage fraud accusations before the Supreme Court blocked him.
