Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., said he’ll accelerate the confirmation process for Trump’s forthcoming Fed nominee, while insisting the next chair must stay above politics and focus squarely on lowering rates, boosting affordability and stabilizing prices.
EXCLUSIVE — Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott, R-S.C., told FOX Business he will push for an “accelerated path to completion” after President Donald Trump told reporters Sunday that the president knows who he will choose to lead the Federal Reserve.
The Senate Banking Committee is responsible for reviewing and voting to approve the president’s pick before the candidate goes to the full Senate for confirmation.
“We need a Fed chair who puts the American people’s priorities above politics,” Scott told FOX Business. “We saw with Jay Powell that, with the Biden administration in office, he had one approach to running the Fed. And when Trump came into office, he had a different approach.
“We want someone who’s agnostic to who’s in the White House, someone who focuses on the American people’s priorities, and that means lowering interest rates, making affordability a priority and stabilizing the prices so significant that we have a Fed chair that gets the job done.”
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With Jerome Powell on the way out, Trump is weighing a shortlist of new contenders to lead the Federal Reserve as he pushes for quicker rate cuts amid easing inflation. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP / Getty Images)
Sitting Fed Chairman Jerome Powell is on the way out after sparring with President Trump at the end of Trump’s first term and throughout his second term. The president has been vocal about lowering interest rates, which Powell and his board of governors have done twice since the beginning of the year after inflation cooled.
Trump has been critical of the Fed chair, referring to him as Jerome “Too Late” Powell for what the president sees as a lag in lowering interest rates.
Powell was first appointed by Trump in 2018 and reappointed by President Biden in 2022.
Director of the National Economic Council Kevin Hassett is one of the potential candidates to replace Powell. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images / Getty Images)
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Federal Reserve chairs serve 4-year terms with no term limits. William McChesney Martin Jr. remains the longest serving Fed chair after 18 years and ten months of service, spanning from Harry Truman to Richard Nixon.
Last week, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent interviewed five candidates for the role and presented a shortlist to President Trump.
As for Trump’s pick, Director of the National Economic Council Kevin Hassett, Federal Reserve Board Governor Christopher Waller and ex-Fed board governor Kevin Warsh are rumored as the top choices.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent gave President Trump a shortlist of potential candidates for Fed chair. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
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The Fed operates on a dual mandate to maximize employment and stabilize prices. The Fed’s main tool to fulfill its dual mandate is by controlling short-term interest rates.
The Federal Funds Target Rate, which is the interest rate banks charge each other for overnight loans of reserves, has a target range of 3.75% to 4.00%. Changing the overnight rate trickles down to nearly every interest rate in the country, including car loans, mortgage rates, credit card rates, etc.