Trump says he is `very, very close' to naming Fed chair

President Donald Trump told reporters Monday he is “very, very close” to announcing his nominee for chairman of the Federal Reserve.

Trump gave the timeline in answer to a reporter’s question at the start of an Oval Office meeting with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, but he didn’t elaborate.

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U.S. President-elect Donald Trump speaks to members of the media in the lobby at Trump Tower in New York, U.S., on Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2016. As Donald Trump prepares to assume the U.S. presidency, luxury towers from Istanbul to Manila that bear his name become de facto government symbols, making them potential terrorist targets. Experts say the question of how to protect them and who should pay poses a complex ethical and legal dilemma. Photographer: Albin Lohr-Jones/Pool via Bloomberg

Trump said in an interview with Fox Business Network aired Sunday and Monday he’s considering Stanford University economist John Taylor and Federal Reserve Governor Jerome Powell for the top job at the central bank, and indicated Fed Chair Janet Yellen remains in the running for renomination to a second four-year term.

Trump’s closest advisers are steering him toward either Taylor or Powell for chairman, several people familiar with the process said on Thursday, after the president finished interviewing candidates for the job by meeting with Yellen.

The White House has said he’ll make a decision before he leaves for a trip to Asia on Nov. 3. Yellen’s term ends in February.

Trump’s shortlist for Fed chair also includes Gary Cohn, director of the White House National Economic Council, and former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh.

Bloomberg News
Monetary policy Federal Reserve FOMC
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