Bessent's Personnel Screening Push Reverses the Traditional Backstage of the Federal Reserve, Giving the U.S. Treasury More Say

President Trump announced that the next Federal Reserve Chair will be selected in early January next year. Treasury Secretary Bessent has organized and overseen the candidate screening process, thereby establishing an agenda that could bring comprehensive reforms to the Fed while also pushing for rate cuts.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is at a pivotal moment in his government career. Although the transfer of power from the Federal Reserve to Bessent poses risks, a more plausible scenario is that he will gain new authority. He will work with a Fed Chair willing to cooperate, who may be inclined to grant the Treasury Department some powers long considered politically sensitive and outside the reach of the executive branch. At that point, the Treasury will have greater influence over the Fed's large-scale asset purchases and sales (referred to as quantitative easing and quantitative tightening).