Trump says he will announce a replacement for Powell as Fed chair Friday morning

President Donald Trump said Thursday that he will make his selection for the new Fed chairman on Friday.

Speaking at the premiere of “Melania,” the movie about First Lady Melania Trump, the president said the five-month quest to find a replacement for current Chairman Jerome Powell is nearing its end.

“I will announce the Fed chairman tomorrow morning,” Trump said. When asked if he had actually decided on a choice, he replied: “I better do it, otherwise I’ll have to go to work very quickly.”

The process of deciding who will replace Powell began in September with a field of 11 candidates that included past and current Fed officials, economists and Wall Street investment professionals. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent screened suitable candidates and narrowed the list down to five, then four.

The final four are believed to be former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh, National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, current Fed Governor Christopher Waller and BlackRock’s chief investment officer of fixed income, Rick Rieder.

Prediction markets place bets on who will get the job. Hassett was the leader for a while, then Warsh and for the last few days Rieder. However, on Thursday evening this situation was reversed and Kalshi now has Warsh as the 80% favourite.

An administration source told CNBC that Warsh was at the White House on Thursday. However, a White House official denied these speculations.

White House spokesman Kush Desai said, “President Trump will make a statement regarding the Federal Reserve selection at the appropriate time. Until then, any news regarding the Federal Reserve Chairman nomination process is a waste of everyone’s time.”

Powell, on the other hand, defied questions about whether he would remain in office after his presidential term ends in May. Powell has the option to serve out the remaining two years of his governor’s term.