President Donald Trump is considering naming Kevin Hassett to head the Federal Reserve after the end of Jerome Powell's tenure has ended.
CNBC reported Monday that while Hassett may have the president's ear, there is a risk that he'll be seen as in Trump's pocket and do whatever he asks.
Trump has spent the better part of his administration demanding that Powell reduce interest rates. When Powell finally did reduce interest rates, Trump continued to rail against Powell for being "too late" to do so.
CNBC cited Kalshi, the online betting site, for the 51 percent odds that Hassett is the nominee. However, that's down 29 percent from earlier in December. Former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh is currently ranked as a distant second at 44 percent odds. That's up from 11 percent earlier this month.
The concern, however, is whether someone like Hassett could cause a bond market "revolt over time."
"That view could end up having the opposite effect Trump wants, with long-term yields eventually rising on concern Hassett wouldn’t do enough to contain inflation should it ever rebound down the road," the report said.
CNBC speculated it could have been the reason that Hassett spoke to CBS News over the weekend about the independence of the Fed.
Trump “has very strong and well-founded views about what we ought to do. But in the end, the job of the Fed is to be independent and to work with the group of people that are on the Board of Governors, at the FOMC, to drive a group consensus on where interest rates should be,” said Hassett during an appearance on “Face the Nation,” a transcript said.
Hassett was asked whether Trump's views would carry the same weight as the voting members of the central bank.
“No, no, he would have no weight. It’s just his opinion matters if it’s good, you know, if it’s based on data," said Hassett.
Powell's term is officially up in May 2026.
Read the full report here.
