After a series of rigorous interviews, some lasting as long as two hours, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has winnowed down the list of candidates for Federal Reserve chair to five from 11, and that person could be nominated to the Fed — though not necessarily as chair — by January.According to senior Treasury officials, the remaining list of candidates includes two sitting Fed officials — Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman and Governor Christopher Waller — along with Kevin Hassett, the director of the National Economic Council, former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh and BlackRock Fixed Income CIO Rick Rieder.The Treasury plans to hold another round of interviews with all five candidates in the coming weeks and months. The interviews will be led by Bessent and include two senior Treasury officials and two senior White House officials.With Bessent focused on the World Bank/IMF meetings in Washington next week and then traveling to Asia with President Donald Trump on an extended trip, the officials said the interview process might not be wrapped up until after Thanksgiving.The secretary then intends to send a smaller list to Trump, who will make the final decision. It is likely, however, that this person will first be nominated to be a Fed governor and then nominated later to be Fed chair.The reason is outgoing Fed Chair Jerome Powell, whose term ends in May, sits in a governor’s seat that has only two years remaining. The seat of former Fed Governor Adria …
