Overview
- At a White House event, President Trump told Kevin Hassett he wants to keep him in his current role, after which Kalshi and Polymarket traders lifted Kevin Warsh’s odds to roughly 59% and cut Hassett’s to the mid-teens.
- The Justice Department’s criminal investigation into Jerome Powell over a $2.5 billion headquarters renovation continued to draw bipartisan criticism; Powell denies wrongdoing, and Sen. Thom Tillis said he would oppose Fed confirmations until the probe is resolved.
- BlackRock’s Rick Rieder completed an Oval Office interview that covered Fed profitability, policy stability and U.S. debt dynamics, with some officials viewing his lack of prior Fed service as an advantage.
- Markets reflected the shifting odds, with the 10-year Treasury yield edging just above 4.2% and gold falling as investors priced a chair seen as less inclined toward steep rate cuts than Hassett.
- Powell’s term as chair ends in May, but he could remain on the Board of Governors through 2028, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent signaled a chair decision is expected by late January.