Trump Nominates Jerome 'Jay' Powell to Replace Yellen as Fed Chair

President Donald Trump has nominated current Fed Governor Jerome “Jay” Powell as the next chair of the Federal Reserve, replacing Janet Yellen, whose four-year term ends in February.

The widely anticipated move installs a multimillionaire Republican former hedge fund investor at the helm of the world’s largest economy.

Praising Powell’s “considerable talent and experience,” Trump said at the Rose Garden announcement on Thursday afternoon that his nominee has the “wisdom and leadership to guide our economy,” and knows “what truly drives American success.”

• Add to Google

President Trump Nominates Jerome Powell For Fed Chair

01:11

Considered the second-most important job in the country, the potential new head of the central bank has no formal training as an economist — but his Wall Street background and business-friendly, pro-deregulation instincts likely appeal to Trump.

For his part, Powell first thanked his wife and parents, then said he was "honored and humbled" to have been nominated by the president.

Powell’s selection is a status quo move for the president: The economy has performed well under Yellen, and Powell’s statements during his five years as governor indicate that he has, for the most part, agreed with Yellen’s tactics.

"I don't think he's going to do much to alter it, at least immediately," Jim Caron of Morgan Stanley Investment Management told CNBC. "Having been on the Fed, people know him. They don't view him as an adversarial outsider coming in with an agenda."

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSInflation and tariffs push U.S. holiday spending projections to a record $1.7 trillion

FOR SUBSCRIBERSWhat happened inside the room where officials tried to execute Christa Pike by lethal injection

FOR SUBSCRIBERSHow we reported the saga of the CIA officer and his gold-bar stash

FOR SUBSCRIBERS‘We’re going to beat you to death with audits’: Brad Raffensperger gears up to oversee his final election in Georgia

FOR SUBSCRIBERSDiddy is punished following NBC News report on his VIP life in prison and contraband cellphone use

FOR SUBSCRIBERS‘Too young to vote, old enough to be tear gassed’: French protesters’ anger swells

FOR SUBSCRIBERSDOJ gets aggressive in suing states that challenge Trump’s immigration policies

FOR SUBSCRIBERSJustice Department seeks criminal charge for former Trump aide Cassidy Hutchinson

FOR SUBSCRIBERS‘I just want to hold him’: USS Lincoln sailor to meet his 10-month-old son as ship docks

FOR SUBSCRIBERSSenate candidates run on raising Social Security taxes for higher incomes to prevent benefit cuts

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRussian operation that used ChatGPT tricked schools, a politician and media, OpenAI says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump administration’s deal with Nevada fuels data center fight in governor’s race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSLatino voters reject Trump’s immigration policies — and detail the personal impact

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAs Democrats eye big midterm gains, the Wisconsin governor’s race remains a nail-biter

FOR SUBSCRIBERSU.S. military prepares new Iran war options ahead of midterm elections

Slide 1 of 1

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSInflation and tariffs push U.S. holiday spending projections to a record $1.7 trillion

FOR SUBSCRIBERSWhat happened inside the room where officials tried to execute Christa Pike by lethal injection

FOR SUBSCRIBERSHow we reported the saga of the CIA officer and his gold-bar stash

FOR SUBSCRIBERS‘We’re going to beat you to death with audits’: Brad Raffensperger gears up to oversee his final election in Georgia

FOR SUBSCRIBERSDiddy is punished following NBC News report on his VIP life in prison and contraband cellphone use

FOR SUBSCRIBERS‘Too young to vote, old enough to be tear gassed’: French protesters’ anger swells

FOR SUBSCRIBERSDOJ gets aggressive in suing states that challenge Trump’s immigration policies

FOR SUBSCRIBERSJustice Department seeks criminal charge for former Trump aide Cassidy Hutchinson

FOR SUBSCRIBERS‘I just want to hold him’: USS Lincoln sailor to meet his 10-month-old son as ship docks

FOR SUBSCRIBERSSenate candidates run on raising Social Security taxes for higher incomes to prevent benefit cuts

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRussian operation that used ChatGPT tricked schools, a politician and media, OpenAI says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump administration’s deal with Nevada fuels data center fight in governor’s race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSLatino voters reject Trump’s immigration policies — and detail the personal impact

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAs Democrats eye big midterm gains, the Wisconsin governor’s race remains a nail-biter

FOR SUBSCRIBERSU.S. military prepares new Iran war options ahead of midterm elections

Slide 1 of 1

However, in nominating the 64-year-old Powell, Trump is breaking with decades of presidential tradition by not retaining the current Fed chair: Barack Obama kept Ben Bernanke, Bill Clinton stayed the course with Alan Greenspan, and Ronald Reagan renominated Paul Volcker.

During his presidential campaign, Trump frequently criticized Yellen, saying at one point "I think she is very political and to a certain extent, I think she should be ashamed of herself. Because it is not supposed to be that way."

Since assuming the presidency, Trump has mellowed in his opinion of the current Fed chair, acknowledging on Thursday that she is a "spectacular person" and a "wonderful woman who's done a terrific job."

The position requires confirmation from the Senate.