Hassett on Trump's next Fed chair: ‘We'll have to see if he chooses me'

The Hill

2 days ago

National Economic Council (NEC) Director Kevin Hassett signaled in a Sunday interview that he is open to succeeding Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell if he's tapped to do so.
In an interview on NBC News's 'Meet the Press,' Hassett said President Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent are in the process of finding a replacement for Powell, whose term as chair is up next May. Powell's term on the board of governors expires in January 2028.
'I've been working with the president for about eight years, and, you know, as one of his closest economic advisers, of course, we've talked about the Federal Reserve,' Hassett said, when asked whether he wants to succeed Powell as Fed chair and whether he would accept the position.
'Right now, he's set up an active search with Secretary Bessent, and they're going to go through a list of names. And I'm sure the president will pick the best available person,' Hassett continued.
NBC News's Kristen Welker pressed Hassett: 'If that's you, will you say yes?'
'Well, we'll have to see if he chooses me,' Hassett responded. 'But I think that I have the best job in the world, and I'm really well placed at the National Economic Council.'
Powell has resisted calls from Trump to lower interest rates, often frustrating the president, who has in the past floated the possibility of firing the chair — a move that, without cause, would raise legal questions.
Welker asked Hassett whether he thinks the Fed chair should take direction from the Oval Office or economic conditions in general.
'I think that a Fed chair should listen to all the voices, especially their critics, to try to think about, what am I getting right? What am I getting wrong? The Fed chair also has a transparency responsibility, which I think that Jay has fallen down on a little bit,' Hassett said.
'If you're going to come out and say, for example, that you think that tariffs are going to cause inflation, then, for goodness sake, you should put out a model that explains how much inflation and why you think that way,' Hassett continued, 'because there are others that disagree.'