ISTANBUL

The list of candidates for the next Federal Reserve chair has been reduced from 11 to five by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent after a series of interviews, CNBC reported Friday, citing senior Treasury Department officials.

The remaining five names include two current Fed officials, Governor Christopher Waller and Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman, as well as Kevin Hassett, the National Economic Council's head, former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh, and BlackRock Fixed Income chief investment officer (CIO) Rick Rieder.

In the upcoming weeks and months, the Treasury intends to interview each of the five applicants again. Bessent will conduct the interviews, which will involve two senior Treasury officials and two senior White House officials.

President Donald Trump will then have the last say once the secretary sends him a short list. However, this selected candidate is expected to be nominated first as a Fed governor and subsequently as Fed chair.

Outgoing Fed Chair Jerome Powell, whose tenure expires in May, is serving as governor for two more years. Currently held by Stephen Miran, the seat of outgoing Fed Governor Adriana Kugler expires in January, allowing the incoming Fed chair to be nominated to a position with a full 14-year governor's term.

However, the sources quoted said there were alternative options and that the plan was still up for debate.

Only Rieder and Bowman would be fresh suggestions to the White House, as the president has already selected Warsh, Hassett, and Waller as candidates for the position.