President Donald Trump has chosen current Jerome Powell to be the Federal Reserve chairman, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.
Trump is expected to make the formal announcement Thursday, but sources close to the White House told WSJ Trump called Powell, currently a Federal Reserve governor, earlier Wednesday to ask him to serve.
If confirmed by the Senate, Powell would succeed current chair Janet Yellen, former President Barack Obama’s appointee, who has chaired the Federal Reserve board of governors since February 2014.
Most recent presidents have nominated Federal Reserve chairmen for a second term, even if they were chosen by a president of the opposing party. Trump would be the first president to pass over a first-term chairperson in modern political history.
Powell has strong ties to the financial industry as a former executive at the Carlyle Group, a Washington, D.C., investment firm, and would be the richest Fed chairman since the 1940s, according to The Washington Post.
Trump teased the nomination over the weekend in an Instagram video. “It will be a person who hopefully will do a fantastic job,” Trump said. “I think everybody will be very impressed.”
Follow Thomas Phippen on Twitter
Send tips to thomas@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.