Trump rules out Bessent for Fed chair, says he wants to stay at Treasury
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More news: Donald Trump said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will not be the next Federal Reserve chair, after Bessent told him he wants to stay at Treasury. Trump said he is considering four people for the role, including “the two Kevins,” referring to National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett and former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh.
He said he would “shortly” announce a nominee to fill the Fed Board seat vacated early by Governor Adriana Kugler, and suggested that person could also be his choice to replace Jerome Powell as chair when his term ends in May.
What they said: “I asked him just last night, ‘Is this something you want?’ ‘No, I want to stay where I am.’ He actually said ‘I want to work with you,’” Trump said of Bessent in the CNBC interview.
When asked who the next chair might be, Trump said: “It’ll be one of four people… I think I say Kevin and Kevin, both Kevins are very good, and there are other people that are very good too.”
Trump also said he would “very shortly” announce a nominee to replace Fed Governor Adriana Kugler, who last week resigned several months before her term was set to end. “A lot of people say, when you do that, why don’t you just pick the person who’s going to head up the Fed? That’s a possibility too,” he said.
Trump says pharma, semiconductors tariffs coming 'within next week'
The news: US President Donald Trump said the US will announce tariffs on semiconductor and pharmaceutical imports “within the next week or so,” as the administration prepares to target key economic sectors.
In a CNBC interview, Trump said the pharmaceutical tariff will “initially” be small but rise to 150% and then 250% within one to one and a half years because “we want pharmaceuticals made in our country.”
The context: The Commerce Department has been investigating the semiconductor market since April to set the stage for possible tariffs on an industry, Bloomberg notes, is expected to generate nearly USD700 billion in global sales.
Trump also said he is likely to raise tariffs on Indian goods “very substantially over the next 24 hours” from a planned 25%, citing India’s ties to Russia. The new tariffs follow earlier trade investigations and precede a Thursday deadline for reciprocal tariffs on goods from multiple countries.
What they said: “We’ll be putting a initially small tariff on pharmaceuticals, but in one year, one and a half years, maximum, it’s going to go to 150% and then it’s going to go to 250% because we want pharmaceuticals made in our country,” he said.
On semiconductors, Trump added: “We’re going to be announcing on semiconductors and chips, which is a separate category.”
The sources: CNBC, Bloomberg, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, Reuters
