Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., said he would speed up the confirmation process for Trump’s next Fed nominee, while insisting that the next president must stay above politics and focus squarely on lowering rates, strengthening affordability and stabilizing prices.
EXCLUSIVE – Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott, R-S.C., told FOX Business he will push for an “accelerated path to completion” after the chairman Donald Trump told reporters Sunday that the president knows who he would choose to lead the Federal Reserve.
The Senate Banking Committee is responsible for reviewing and voting to approve the president’s choice before the nominee is presented to the full Senate for confirmation.
“We need a Chairman of the Fed who puts the priorities of the American people before politics,” Scott told FOX Business. “We saw with Jay Powell that with the Biden administration in power, he had an approach to running the Fed. And when Trump came to power, he had a different approach.
“We want someone who is agnostic to whoever is in the White House, someone who is focused on the priorities of the American people, and that means lowering interest rates, making affordability a priority and stabilizing prices so significantly that we have a Fed chairman who gets the job done.”
SUPREME COURT KEEPS LISA COOK FROM THE FED FOR NOW AND AGREES TO REVIEW THE CASE
With Jerome Powell set to depart, Trump is weighing a shortlist of new contenders to lead the Federal Reserve as he pushes for faster rate cuts amid slowing inflation. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images)
Acting Fed Chairman Jerome Powell is on his way out after fighting with President Trump at the end of Trump’s first term and throughout his second term. The president has come out in favor of lowering interest rates, which Powell and his board of governors have done twice. since the start of the year, after the slowdown in inflation.
Trump criticized the Fed chairman, calling him “too late” Jerome Powell for what the president sees as a delay in lowering interest rates.
Powell was first nominated by Trump in 2018 and reappointed by President Biden in 2022.
National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett is one of the potential candidates to replace Powell. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images/Getty Images)
BESSENT EXCLUDES FED CHAIRMAN’S ROLE, EXPLAINS WHAT ATTRACTED SAUDI’S $1 TRILLION INVESTMENT DEAL
Federal Reserve chairmen serve 4-year terms with no term limits. William McChesney Martin Jr. remains the longest-serving Fed chairman after 18 years and ten months of service, ranging from Harry Truman to Richard Nixon.
Last week, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant interviewed five candidates for the position and presented a shortlist to President Trump.
As for Trump’s choice, National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller and former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh would be the top choices.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent presented President Trump with a shortlist of potential candidates for Fed chairman. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
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THE The Fed operates on a dual mandate maximize employment and stabilize prices. The Fed’s primary tool for fulfilling its dual mandate is to control short-term interest rates.
THE Target federal funds ratewhich is the interest rate banks charge each other for overnight loans against reserves, has a target range of 3.75% to 4.00%. The overnight rate change applies to almost all interest rates in the country, including auto loans, mortgage rates, credit card rates, and more.
