Federal Reserve

Gary Cohn is a contender for Fed chief even though 'he doesn't know this,' Trump says

Key Points
  • Yellen "absolutely" in the running for a second-four year term, Trump tells WSJ.
  • There are two or three other candidates, but the president didn't name them.
Trump says Gary Cohn is a contender for Fed chair after Yellen's term ends: WSJ
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Trump says Gary Cohn is a contender for Fed chair after Yellen's term ends: WSJ

There has been talk that President Trump's top economic advisor, Gary Cohn, is a contender to talk the helm of the Federal Reserve when current Chairman Janet Yellen's term is up next year. Now Trump has confirmed that.

"He doesn't know this, but yes he is," President Trump told The Wall Street Journal in an interview, when asked if Cohn was a candidate for the job. Cohn is director of the National Economic Council, a job he took after nearly three decades working at Goldman Sachs.

Cohn has been leading the search for a possible Yellen successor and was present in the room during the interview with the Journal. Trump said he is considering replacing her with Cohn, Goldman's former president, though he added he thinks Yellen is "doing a good job" and she is "absolutely" still in the running to serve a second four-year term.

There are two or three other candidates in the running, too, he said, declining to name them. He said he expected to announce a nominee by the end of the year. Yellen's term is up in February.

Click here to read the Wall Street Journal interview.