President Donald Trump and other White House officials will visit the Federal Reserve today to tour the renovations that have provided fodder for his efforts to force Jerome Powell out before Powell’s term is up next spring.
But Trump’s browbeating is already handicapping the next chair’s credibility to build agreement among the officials who vote on interest-rate moves.
Powell has mostly maintained consensus because mixed economic data and heightened uncertainty has justified sitting tight. But the coming months could bring one of two clearer pictures: a strong economy that defies Trump’s critics, or the twin punches of slower growth and tariff-induced inflation for which there is no easy Fed playbook.
The chair is just one of 12 votes, and the Fed’s rotating voting panel, which took a slightly hawkish turn this year, will shift again in 2026. So while potential chair candidates are parroting the White House’s preferences now, they will have to build support from within their (presumably spruced-up) building.