Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent Claims There Are A ‘Lot Of Good, Strong Candidates’ After Trump Says Jerome Powell Should ‘Resign Immediately’

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Thursday indirectly said the Trump administration has prepared a list of potential successors to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

“There are a lot of good, strong candidates” to replace Powell, the Treasury Secretary said during an interview with Fox Business, even as the Fed Chair has remained mum on the topic so far.

President Donald Trump earlier said he has three to four candidates in mind to replace Powell.

Bessent further hinted at hopes of Powell leaving the Fed altogether when his term expires in May 2026, saying the Trump administration would get to “hopefully fill two seats next year.”

Powell is also on the Fed’s Board of Governors, and his term as a governor would expire in 2028. If he does not leave the Fed altogether post the end of his term as the Fed Chair, the Trump administration would be able to fill only one seat.

As for his own candidacy for Powell’s job, Bessent said he does not want to reveal private conversations.

On Wednesday, President Trump reiterated his desire for Powell to step down from his role as the Fed Chair, amid frustration over differing viewpoints on interest rate cuts.

The President asked for “Too Late” Powell to “resign immediately” in a post on Truth Social, citing Federal Housing Finance Agency chief Bill Pulte’s comments calling for an investigation by Congress into the Fed Chair.

“I am asking Congress to investigate Chairman Jerome Powell, his political bias, and his deceptive Senate testimony, which is enough to be removed ‘for cause,’” Pulte said in a post on the social media platform X.

Meanwhile, U.S. equities edged up on Thursday after a report showed the job market remained resilient.

At the time of writing, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), which tracks the S&P 500 index, was up 0.57%, while the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) gained 0.61%. Stocktwits data shows retail sentiment around the S&P 500 ETF has been in the ‘bullish’ territory over the past week.

For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.

Also See: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent Says Rate Cut Could Happen As Soon As September

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