Trump Starts Process to Replace Fed Chair, Won’t Oust Powell Early, Bessent Says

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on July 15 that the “formal process” for selecting a successor to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is already underway, but he emphasized that President Donald Trump has no plans to remove Powell before his term expires in May 2026, despite the president’s criticism of the Fed chief’s performance.

In an interview on Bloomberg Television on Tuesday, Bessent was asked whether there have been any updates to his prior indication that work on finding Powell’s replacement would start sometime in the fall.