Trump says Warsh, Hassett are leading contenders for Fed chair pick

President Donald Trump told The Wall Street Journal he is focusing on two leading contenders to chair the Federal Reserve next year: former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh, whom he said is at the top of the list, and National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, calling them “the two Kevins” and praising both; he added there are a couple of other candidates under consideration. The comments position Warsh and Hassett as front-runners for the Fed nomination, and the selection remains a developing story.

Analysis

President Donald Trump told The Wall Street Journal he is focusing on two leading contenders to chair the Federal Reserve next year: former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh, whom he named as "at the top of the list," and National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, referring to them as "the two Kevins" and noting a couple of other candidates remain under consideration. The report is framed as a developing story and provides no timetable or indication that a formal nomination has been made.

The potential choice matters because the Fed chair appointment directly influences expectations for monetary policy and interest-rate trajectories; the article was classified under themes including Monetary Policy and Interest Rates & Yields and the derived market-impact signal is modest (0.35) with neutral sentiment and an uncertain tone. Because the piece contains only the president's naming of front-runners and no policy statements from either candidate, markets have limited new information to reprice risk or forward rate expectations at this stage.

For investors, the primary near-term consideration is event risk around the nomination and confirmation process: statements from either prospective nominee, White House timing, and Senate hearings will be the next information catalysts that could move yields and rate-sensitive assets. Until such cues appear, the situation supports monitoring and tactical risk-management rather than making large, conviction-driven reallocations based solely on this report.

Key Decisions for Investors

• Monitor the nomination and confirmation timeline closely and prioritize primary-source cues (candidate speeches, White House announcements, Senate hearing schedules) for policy-signaling information
• Keep duration and rate-sensitive exposures under review and consider modest de-risking or hedges in fixed-income and interest-rate-sensitive equities until nominee policy stance is clarified
• Avoid large directional portfolio shifts based solely on this report and maintain liquidity to act on clearer market-moving information as the selection process develops