The race to see who will lead the Federal Reserve in 2018 and beyond is becoming a process of elimination, with two and perhaps three candidates remaining.
President Donald Trump apparently has solidified his thinking and is now choosing between Fed Governor Jerome “Jay” Powell and Stanford economist John Taylor.
However, several twists have been interjected into the equation.
“Trump changes his mind about it everyday,” a source told Politico, according to a report posted Thursday.
The site speculated that current Chair Janet Yellen remains in the mix because Trump is worried that removing her might disrupt the hardy stock market rally that has taken place since his election. The Dow industrials have surged more than 30 percent from the low just a couple days before the Nov. 8 election.
However, one source reportedly close to Trump did tell Politico that Yellen was out of the race completely.
The report adds further detail on how the process has unfolded.
Former Governor Kevin Warsh, once considered a favorite for the job, has fallen out of favor, perhaps because of a long-simmering feud he has had with recently appointed Governor Randal Quarles, according to a Bloomberg report that Politico cited.
Meanwhile, Keith Hennessey, a former advisor to President George W. Bush, is backing Warsh. Gary Cohn, Trump’s chief economic advisor, also has been ruled out in a number of reports, though an administration official told CNBC otherwise.
