President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Rick Rieder of asset management firm BlackRock was a “very impressive” candidate, as the US leader nears the end of his search for a new Federal Reserve chief.
But he quickly added that the final contenders to succeed Fed Chair Jerome Powell are “all good,” in a CNBC interview on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.
“I’d say we’re down to three, but we’re down to two. And I probably can tell you we’re down to maybe one, in my mind,” Trump added.
The competition is widely seen to have narrowed to four candidates: White House National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett; former Fed official Kevin Warsh; Fed governor Christopher Waller; and Rieder of BlackRock.
But in recent days, Trump has signaled that he prefers for Hassett to remain at the NEC.
On Wednesday, Trump told CNBC that Hassett was “good on television.”
“I like actually keeping him where he is, if you want to know the truth,” Trump said, hinting that Hassett might be out of the running.
Asked about the other candidates, however, Trump added that Rieder and Warsh were good as well.
He took aim again at Powell, whom he has repeatedly slammed, saying the Fed chief was “always too late” in adjusting interest rates.
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