Kevin Hassett, a leading nominee for Fed chairman by President Donald Trump, said Trump’s voice would have no weight in the central bank’s interest rate decisions under his presidency.
“[He] has very strong, well-founded opinions about what we should be doing,” Hassett, Trump’s top White House economic adviser, said Sunday on CBS’ Face the Nation.
“But ultimately the Fed’s job is to be independent and to work with the group of people who sit on the Board of Governors, the FOMC, to come to a group consensus on where interest rates stand,” he added.
Hassett’s remarks follow Trump’s recent comment that he should be able to weigh in on the Fed’s rate decisions.
Hassett is widely seen as a dovish candidate likely to align with Trump’s demands for aggressive interest rate cuts to support economic growth. His advocacy for looser monetary policy, including his recent support for deeper cuts, positions him to push the Fed to prioritize economic expansion over inflation control.
Bitcoin bulls are pinning their hopes on Fed rate cuts to maintain an upward price trajectory in the months to come.
As of this writing, Hassett leads Polymarket’s odds at 52% for Fed Chairman, surpassing former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh’s 40%. Warsh’s likelihood has risen sharply, from 13% since Trump met with him last week. Powell’s term is expected to end. May 15.
