The US president is considering candidates to replace Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell, who is resigning after disagreeing with President Trump over interest rate cuts.
Published December 24, 2025
US President Donald Trump said he expects the next US Federal Reserve chairman to keep interest rates low and never go “against” him.
President Trump made the remarks Tuesday during interviews to replace outgoing Federal Reserve Director Jerome Powell.
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“I want the new Fed chairman to lower interest rates when markets are strong, but not to destroy markets for no reason,” Trump said in a lengthy post on his platform, Truth Social.
“America should be rewarded for success, not defeated by success. Anyone who disagrees with me will never be Fed Chairman!”
Since returning to office in February, President Trump has put constant pressure on the Federal Reserve, the U.S. central bank, to cut interest rates to boost economic growth across the U.S. economy.
President Trump also threatened to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell, calling him “insensitive” and a “big loser” in public for not following instructions on lowering interest rates. The president’s comments about Mr. Powell’s replacement have fueled concerns about the Fed’s future independence from political interference, a long-standing practice in the United States.
The Fed has already lowered its benchmark interest rate three times this year, to between 3.5% and 3.75% in mid-December. But President Trump has previously suggested that the rate should be as low as 1%.
Lower interest rates make it cheaper to borrow money and encourage consumption, but cutting rates too quickly or too quickly increases the risk of inflation.
Michael Sandel, chief investment officer at Potomac River Capital and a Federal Reserve historian, told Al Jazeera that Trump is sending a clear message to the next Fed chairman.
“Powell’s statements in the final weeks of his successor campaign make it clear that the focus is on which of the final candidates will do what Trump wants. In other words, who can convince Trump that their approach is in Trump’s best interests,” Sandel said.
Leading candidates to replace Mr. Powell include Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council. Kevin Warsh is a financier and former head of the Federal Reserve. That’s what Christopher Waller, the current Fed director, said, according to CNBC news station.
Hassett said this week that the Fed should continue cutting interest rates even though recent economic data shows the U.S. economy is doing better than many analysts previously thought.
The U.S. Department of Commerce announced this week that gross domestic product (GDP) grew 4.3% in the July-September period, higher than the 3.2% growth expected by Dow Jones analysts in the third quarter of 2025, according to CNBC.
Much of that growth was driven by private consumption and exports, the Economic Bureau said.
Sandel told Al Jazeera that Hassett appears to be the most likely candidate because of his past collaboration with Trump.
“Among the finalists, I’m betting on Kevin Hassett. He’s the closest to Trump, and he’s the NEC chair. He’s probably the last one left in this room and the one who can make the most of his case,” he said.
Hassett added that he has the “rare” skill of being able to “teach Mr. Trump economics and promote Mr. Trump’s own unique ideas.”
