US President Donald Trump next year is set to have his greatest chance yet to push for more control over a Federal Reserve that has so far defied his relentless campaign to aggressively lower interest rates.
That control rests on who Mr Trump will nominate to succeed Jerome Powell as Fed chair once his term ends in May. Mr Powell, the silver-haired central banker who first made his name at the Carlyle Group, has maintained a pragmatic and even-keeled approach during his term at the helm of the Fed.
That approach served Mr Powell well in the last few months as the rate-setting committee has been deeply divided over the speed and scope of future cuts. He most recently steered the Fed to lower its benchmark overnight rate by 25 basis points for a third straight time in a 9-3 vote.
“When the committee is divided, you're less sure where the funds rate is headed and so they are less effective in conveying a vision of policy. And so that's where they are," Vincent Reinhart, chief economist at BNY Investments, said in an interview.
Jerome Powell's term as Fed chair is due to end in May 2026.
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