President Donald Trump on Tuesday ruled out Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent as a potential replacement for Jerome Powell as chair of the Federal Reserve.
Trump said he spoke with Bessent about potentially taking the role, but the secretary wanted to remain in his role at the Department of the Treasury.
“I love Scott, but he wants to stay where he is,” Trump said Tuesday on CNBC. “I asked him just last night, ‘Is this something you want?’ ‘Nope, I want to stay where I am.’”
With Bessent out as a contender, Trump said he has four potential picks. Trump told CNBC he was considering Kevin Warsh, a bank executive and former member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, and Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council. He did not name the other two.
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“I love Scott, but he wants to stay where he is,” says @realDonaldTrump of Treasury Sec. Bessent being a potential Fed chair nominee. “He does not want it.”https://t.co/0PIUOC8247
— Squawk Box (@SquawkCNBC) August 5, 2025
The president has clashed with Powell in recent months, continually putting pressure on him to lower interest rates. He has entertained the idea of firing Powell and of investigating him for fraud in connection to cost overruns for renovations at the Federal Reserve building in Washington.
So far, Trump has done neither of those things.
Powell’s term as chair ends in May 2026, at which point Trump will have the chance to name a replacement.
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