‘The 2 Kevins’ and the other potential picks Trump could name to replace Jerome Powell

Fed Gov. Christopher Waller’s chances appeared diminished when Trump praised “the Two Kevins” on August 5. But Waller’s name rose to the top of leading prediction markets after Bloomberg News reported days later that he was emerging as the president’s favorite.

Waller, a longtime regional Fed official, was seen as a convention pick when Trump nominated him to the central bank in 2019. Simultaneously, Trump also nominated Judy Shelton, a former campaign advisor and a Fed critic. The fight over Shelton’s nomination soon seeped over onto Waller’s.

In December 2020, the Senate confirmed Waller 48-47, the narrowest margin for any Fed governor since 1980, per The New York Times.

In July, Waller joined Gov. Michelle Bowman (another Trump first-term pick) in opposing the Fed’s decision not to cut interest rates, the first dual dissent in more than 30 years.

Before joining Trump’s orbit, Hassett advised a succession of Republican presidential nominees on economic policy, including George W. Bush, John McCain, and Mitt Romney.

During Trump’s first term, Hassett served as director of the president’s Council of Economic Advisors. He returned to the White House during the COVID-19 pandemic and was severely criticized for publishing a model showing coronavirus deaths hitting zero by May 15, 2020.

In October 1999, Hassett cowrote with journalist Jason Glassman “Dow 36,000: The New Strategy for Profiting From the Coming Rise in the Stock Market.” Some economists have heavily criticized the book, largely because the index took more than 22 years to reach that threshold.

Trump reportedly considered Warsh to lead the Fed before he chose to nominate Powell in 2017.

Warsh spent his early years at Morgan Stanley, working as a specialist in mergers and acquisitions. President George W. Bush nominated him to the Fed in 2006 after Warsh served as an economic advisor in the Bush White House.

Drawing on his Wall Street ties, Warsh played a pivotal role in the central bank’s response to the 2008 global financial crisis. When he left the Fed in 2011, the Times called him the Fed’s chief liaison to Wall Street.

From the sidelines, Warsh has echoed Trump’s criticism of Powell, calling for “regime change” at the Fed.

“The specter of the miss they made on inflation, it has stuck with them,” Warsh told CNBC in July. “So one of the reasons why the president, I think, is right to be pushing the Fed publicly is we need regime change in the conduct of policy.”

James “Jim” Bullard spent 15 years leading the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis and is now the dean of Purdue’s business school.

During his time on the Fed’s Open Markets Committee, Bullard was viewed as a key indicator of the central bank’s policy. He remains a frequent commentator on economic news.

On Friday, The Wall Street Journal reported that Bullard was one of the new contenders added to a list of roughly 10 people. According to the Journal, Bullard recommended Waller for his eventual Fed nomination in 2019.

Bullard has previously expressed interest in serving as Fed chairman if a vacancy occurred.

Like others on this list, Sumerlin worked as an economic policy advisor to President George W. Bush and rose to become deputy director of the National Economic Council.

Sumerlin founded a consulting firm in 2013. According to the Journal, his work with the firm has led to interactions with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

Once a potential candidate himself, Bessent is conducting initial interviews with all of the candidates.