President Donald Trump will interview BlackRock CIO Rick Rieder this Thursday as a Fed chair finalist. The Fed chair post opens on May 15 and Jerome Powell‘s term expires then.
He will meet with President Trump and other senior White House advisers. Susie Wiles, Scott Bessent, and Dan Scavino will join the interview this week.
Other finalists are former Fed governor Kevin Warsh, NEC director Kevin Hassett, and Christopher Waller. Trump said he plans to make his official selection this January.
The Justice Department opened a probe that produced grand jury subpoenas related to Jerome Powell (Ed. note: Powell may not retain a Fed board seat after his chair term ends). “The threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the President,” he said, and added “This is about whether the Fed will be able to continue to set interest rates based on evidence and economic conditions—or whether instead monetary policy will be directed by political pressure or intimidation.”
Rick Rieder has urged the Fed to lower interest rates to 3%. He made the call publicly on Twitter, as shown in this post.
