“He thoroughly knows the entire federal reserve system,” Bloomberg's interlocutors emphasize. Waller has already met with members of the Trump team responsible for choosing Powell's successor. The selection group includes, among others Finance Minister Scott Bessent, vice president of JD Vance and Minister of Trade Howard Lutnick.
The short list next to Waller also included the head of the economic advisers of the White House Kevin Hassett and a former Fed Kevin Warsh official. Trump announced on Wednesday that the list was narrowed to three names.
“President Trump will still nominate the most competent and experienced people (…). However, if the information does not come from President Trump himself, all discussions about personal decisions should be treated as ordinary speculation” – said spokesman for the White House Kush Desai.
The federal reserve refused to comment to Bloomberg.
Discussion about the independence of the Fed and the direction of monetary policy
Last week, Waller was one of the two members of the Governors' Council who objected to maintaining interest rates at the current level. He pointed to the deteriorating situation on the labor market, arguing that the feet should be reduced. The soon -published data on the growth of unemployment was to confirm his position.
In turn, Powell announced earlier that in the summer the FED will assess how the US economy reacts to the prohibitive duties introduced by Trump and whether there are symptoms of growing inflation.
Experts express anxiety that the new head of the Fed Fed could violate the independence of this key institution too susceptible to the pressure of the president. Bloomberg notes that Trump criticized Powell for a long time, calling him, among others “moron” and threatening his release.
Waller, on the other hand, claims that “independence (FED) is of key importance for the economy”, although he adds that the president has the right to formulate expectations towards the central bank.
