'He wants to stay where he is': Trump rules out treasury secretary Scott Bessent for Fed Chair; considers Warsh and Hassett instead

US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is no longer being considered to replace Jerome Powell as Chair of the Federal Reserve , after Bessent expressed his desire to remain in his current role.

“I love Scott, but he wants to stay where he is,” Trump said in a morning interview with CNBC, quoted by CNN. “I’ll take him off, because I asked him just last night, ‘Is this something you want? Nope, I want to stay where I am.’”

Trump said he is now looking at other candidates, including former Fed governor Kevin Warsh and top White House economist Kevin Hassett , along with two other unnamed individuals.

The president has long been critical of Powell over the Fed’s decision not to cut interest rates this year. “Too late,” “a numbskull,” and “a complete moron” are just some of the terms Trump has used to describe the central bank chief, as cited by CNN.

Although Powell holds the top post at the Fed and influences monetary policy significantly, he is one of 12 members who vote on interest rate decisions. Still, Trump’s repeated and aggressive public attacks have sparked concerns about the White House interfering with the independence of the central bank.

Meanwhile, Bessent continues to play a key role in U.S. trade negotiations. Last week, he traveled to Sweden for talks with Chinese trade officials about extending current tariff rates on goods exchanged between the two countries. A decision is expected by August 12, the deadline to maintain or adjust those rates before higher tariffs take effect.