Scott Bessent, US finance minister, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on August 6, 2025.
Bonnie Cash | Bloomberg | Getty pictures
The search for the next chairman of the Federal Reserve continues, and the finance minister Scott Bessent will meet several candidates on the short list of President Donald Trump.
In the past few days, Bessent has met with the former Fed officials Lawrence Lindsey, Kevin Warsh and James Bullard, a Ministry of Finance, said Steve Liesman from CNBC. Lindsey and Warsh both served as governors, and Bullard was President of the St. Louis Fed.
Besser will wait until the meetings of the Federal Open Market Committee are over at the end of the Federal Open Market Committee to the interview -Fed -Fed -Fed.
While the goal is to add one or two names to the candidates that Trump has already mentioned, including Warsh, Kevin Hassett and the current governor Christopher Waller, there is a broader group under better that includes 11 economists, including former and current central bankers and a few market strategists.
In addition to the candidate interviews, Bessent pushes a reform agenda for the Fed. He would like to see how the central bank organically reduces the massive bond portfolio in its balance sheet, the source said. The key would be to reduce the participations of prosecutors and mortgage securities in a way that does not interfere for the markets or the economy.
In addition, Bessent wants to try to reduce the economic footprint of the Fed, the source said.
The message comes with the Fed under a microscope of the White House.
Trump and several other administrative officers have pushed the FED on an interest rate reduction, which has not happened since December 2024. The markets are generally expected that the interest rate FOMC will actually approved a quarter-percent reduction if it meets next week.
In an opinion in Wall Street Journal last week, Bessent showed his own vision for the Fed. He refused what he referred to as “functional gain” activity, in which the central bank repeatedly exceeded the narrow goals that were assigned to it for low unemployment and inflation.
“The Fed has to change the course,” wrote Bessent. “His standard tool kit is too complex to manage it with uncertain theoretical foundations.”
The complexion of the Fed could change significantly next year.
The chairman Jerome Powell’s term of office expires in May 2026, and while he is still developing as governor for two years, he will certainly be replaced in his current position. At the same time, the Senate is expected to vote on the candidate Stephen Miran on Monday.
Trump has also pushed to displace the governor Lisa Cook for allegations of mortgage fraud, even though a dish has prevented him from doing so.
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