In August 2025, a battle for the Federal Reserve Chair is unfolding in Washington.

Trump has taken to social media, targeting former Treasury Secretary Mnuchin—after all, it was Mnuchin who strongly recommended Powell for the Fed Chair position. Trump is furious: rate cuts have been as slow as a snail, causing the markets to lose a lot of money for no reason. Now, Treasury Secretary Besant is in the hot seat, holding a list of potential future chair candidates and feeling enormous pressure. Trump’s message is clear: find someone willing to cut rates quickly, or Besant, you’ll be the one to take the blame.

The leading candidate at the moment is Hassett, who has a knack for translating Trump’s wild ideas into actionable policy language. Other contenders like Walsh, Waller, and Reed are still on the sidelines. Besant is trying to deflect some of the pressure, repeatedly stressing that the Fed Chair only gets one vote, but Trump isn’t buying it—he’s not about to ease up.

To seize control over interest rate policy, Trump has already started maneuvering: he installed Milan on the Fed Board, is openly and covertly trying to squeeze out Cook, and keeps threatening to fire Powell. The candidates are reading the room—each one has voiced support for rate cuts. Hassett has outright pledged to lower borrowing costs.

But while the vision is grand, reality is harsh. Large-scale rate cuts may not fly within the Fed, and the bond market could go haywire—after all, when turmoil hits, no one is immune. More interestingly, Besant has broken with the tradition of Treasury Secretaries being deferential to the Fed, publicly demanding reform and even proposing hard rules like requiring regional presidents to live in their district for at least three years before taking office.

No matter who ends up in the chair, one thing is certain: change is already on the way for the Federal Reserve.