Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says Trump considered re-appointing Janet Yellen as Fed chair

President Trump has a “very open mind” about who should replace Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and he’s even considered Janet Yellen for the post, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent revealed Tuesday. 

Powell’s term as chairman of the US central bank expires in May 2026, and the Trump administration – already interviewing potential replacements – is casting a “very wide net” in the search for his replacement, the treasury secretary told Fox Business host Larry Kudlow. 

“The president has a very open mind,” Bessent said, when asked who Trump is eyeing to replace Powell. 

“He even considered re-appointing Janet Yellen, so we want to see what everyone’s thinking,” he added. 

“It’s not ideological, it’s about economics, what’s best for the American people, what’s best for the economy,” Bessent argued. “And as I talk to the candidates, I’m looking at three things: monetary policy, regulatory policy, and the ability to run and revamp the organization, because it’s really gotten bloated and I think this bloat puts its monetary independence at risk.”

Yellen, 79, served as chair of the Federal Reserve between February 2014 and February 2018, under former President Barack Obama and through the first year and change of Trump’ first term in the White House. 

She also served as treasury secretary for all of former President Joe Biden’s one term in office. 

Yellen recently slammed Trump’s decision to fire Erika McEntarfer, the Biden-appointed former head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, over accusations the agency had been manipulating and miscalculating employment data. 

“This is the kind of thing you would only expect to see in a banana republic,” Yellen told the New York Times last week. 

As treasury secretary, Yellen also staunchly defended Biden’s handling of the inflation-ravaged US economy and criticized Trump-era policies. 

“Our economic agenda is far from finished,” Yellen told the Economic Club of Chicago in January 2024.

“Our country’s infrastructure has been deteriorating for decades,” she continued, adding that “in the Trump administration, the idea of doing anything to fix it was a punchline.”

The former Fed chair went on to claim that “past measures like the Trump administration’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act increased the deficit by $2 trillion while doing little to spur investment.”

Trump is reportedly considering as many as 10 people to replace Powell come next year. 

Former St. Louis Fed President James Bullard; former economic adviser to President George W. Bush, Marc Sumerlin; National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett; former Fed governor Kevin Warsh; and current Fed governor Christopher Waller are among the candidates the president is considering, according to the Wall Street Journal. 

Trump has raged against Powell for the last several months over his refusal to cut interest rates, nicknaming him “Too Late Powell.”

On Tuesday, the president threatened to sue the chairman over the “grossly incompetent job” he has done in managing a $2.5 billion renovation project at the Federal Reserve headquarters in Washington, DC, which the president claims “should have been a $50 Million Dollar fix up.” 

Trump named ally Stephen Miran, a member of his Council of Economic Advisers, to the Fed Board last week, to replace Fed Governor Adriana Kugler, who abruptly resigned. 

Bessent noted that when Powell is replaced as chairman, Trump will have “a majority of the board in DC.” 

“An important thing to remember is we have two seats” Trump is looking to fill, Bessent told Kudlow.  

“So there’s the seat for the chair and then there will be another appointee joining — so we actually get two appointments and President Trump will have a majority of the board in DC.”

The White House did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.