In the White House conference room, a single glance triggered a Wall Street earthquake.

At Tuesday’s meeting, Trump suddenly smiled and looked at Kevin Hassett—the Director of the National Economic Council sitting next to him, who was probably stunned at the time—then dropped a bomb: “The next Federal Reserve Chair is in this room.”

The air instantly froze.

This wasn’t just an offhand remark. Trump directly revealed that the pick would be officially announced in early 2026. Although he’s famously unpredictable, this time he even gave a timeline, basically hinting: Hassett, get ready to take over.

“We started with about ten people,” he said. “Now there’s only one left.”

**Old Rivals Clash Again**

Another key moment at the meeting was Trump once again launching an attack on Powell.

“Even that Dimon from JPMorgan says it’s time to cut rates!” Trump slammed the table, criticizing the current chair for being “wishy-washy and incompetent” when it comes to rate cuts. The harshest blow: “This guy is just a stubborn bull, and he doesn’t care about your president at all.”

Over the past few months, the tug-of-war between these two over rate cuts has only intensified. Trump firmly believes high interest rates are dragging down the economy, and installing a more compliant chair is clearly his most direct way to reshape monetary policy.

**Who Else Is on the Shortlist?**

Aside from top contender Hassett, there are several heavyweight candidates:

• Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller
• Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman
• Former Governor Kevin Warsh
• BlackRock’s head of fixed income, Rick Rieder

Last September, Trump listed Hassett, Warsh, and Waller as his top three. He even half-jokingly tried to rope in Treasury Secretary Besant, but she promptly declined.

**Why Is This So Critical?**

The power to appoint the Fed Chair is the president’s strongest card in monetary policy. The new chair will not only shape the direction of interest rates, but also influence global capital flows for years to come—a signal that’s absolutely vital for the crypto market.

Once rate-cut expectations are realized, where will BTC, ETH, SOL, and other major coins go? The market is already placing its bets. After all, in this power game, the candlestick charts on exchanges often give answers long before the conversations in the White House conference room.