US President Donald Trump announced that he will announce the new appointment for the Federal Reserve chairman sometime next week.
Trumpâs statement comes as current Fed Chairman Jerome Powellâs term nears its end and political pressure on interest rate policy is steadily increasing.
In a post on his Truth Social account, Trump harshly criticized the Fed, arguing that it hadnât lowered interest rates fast enough. Trump stated, âWe should have a much lower interest rate right now, since even this moron admits inflation is no longer a problem or a threat.â However, Powell did not define inflation in this way and continued to emphasize that risks to price stability had not completely disappeared.
While the identity of the new Fed chairman remains unclear, Powell sent a noteworthy message to his successor yesterday. Responding to a journalistâs question, Powell indirectly warned his successor to stay out of politics, emphasizing the critical importance of protecting central bank independence. Powellâs message is seen as an important framework for the new chairman, who will take office at a time when political demands for interest rates to fall to ânear zeroâ levels are expected to intensify.
Meanwhile, on the crypto-based prediction platform Polymarket, bets on who Trump will choose as FED chairman have intensified. According to the platformâs data, Rick Rieder is priced in as the most likely candidate (approximately 39%), followed by Kevin Warsh (30%) and Christopher Waller (13%). Other candidates, including Kevin Hassett, Judy Shelton, Scott Bessent, Stephen Miran, and Michelle Bowman, are priced in with lower probabilities.
*This is not investment advice.