Trump to announce Fed chair decision in 'coming days': White House

By
Reuters
A police officer keeps watch in front of the US Federal Reserve building in Washington, DC, US on October 12, 2016. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/Files
 

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump will announce his decision on who will be the chair of the Federal Reserve in the “coming days”, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said on Wednesday.

Trump has an interview scheduled on Thursday with current Fed Chair Janet Yellen, whose term expires in February. She is one of five candidates Trump is considering for the job.

A White House official said October 12 Trump had met with Stanford University economist John Taylor to discuss the job, it was reported earlier this week.

Trump is working from a short list that also includes Fed governor Jerome Powell, former Fed governor Kevin Warsh, Trump’s top economic adviser Gary Cohn, and Yellen — whose term expires in February, sources have said.





The president is expected to make his announcement before leaving on a trip to Asia in early November.

Trump told reporters late last month he had met with four candidates to lead the US central bank and would make a decision “over the next two or three weeks.”

A new Fed chair would take the helm as the central bank eases well away from crisis-era policies in response to a strengthening economy and falling unemployment, though inflation still lingers below the Fed’s 2-percent goal.