Jerome Powell

1 of 3 | U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (pictured in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday) said President Donald Trump is likely to select the next chair of the Federal Reserve before Christmas. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo

Nov. 25 (UPI) — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tuesday President Donald Trump is likely to select the next chair of the Federal Reserve before Christmas.

Bessent made the remarks in an interview on CNBC, where he offered an update on his work overseeing the search for a successor to Jerome Powell, the current chair whose term ends in May 2026. Trump has pressured Powell to lower interest rates, raising questions about the independence of the nation’s central bank.

In the interview, Bessent said he was seeking a simpler and more subtle role for the Fed, which plays a pivotal role in financial markets and the economy.

“I think we’ve got to kind of simplify things,” he said. “I think it’s time for the Fed just to move back into the background, like, it used to do, calm things down and work for the American people.”

Since returning to the White House, Trump has lobbed criticisms at Powell over his cautious approach to lowering interest rates after a period of high inflation. Trump, who first appointed Powell, has called him a “clown” and openly talked about wanting to fire him.

Inflation is currently at 3%, just shy of the Fed’s 2% target. But members of the Federal Open Market Committee, the bank’s primary monetary policy-setting body, were divided on whether to support rate cuts at its December meeting.

Further complicating the Fed’s work is news that the ​​Consumer Price Index report for October will not be available for its upcoming meeting. The monthly report presents a snapshot of consumer prices, but the recent government shutdown delayed its release.

Bessent said the list of candidates for Fed chair has been narrowed to five and work was progressing well. But he noted the final pick is up to Trump “whether it’s before the Christmas holidays or in the new year.”

Nov. 21 (UPI) — The Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday it won’t deliver the October Consumer Price Index report, meaning the Federal Reserve won’t get the important data before it meets again Dec. 10 to decide on interest rates.

October’s CPI report was scheduled to come out on Nov. 7, but was canceled because of the government shutdown. The November report was scheduled for Dec. 10, but that’s been changed to Dec. 18, which will be too late for the Fed.

The BLS gathers information via visits, phone calls and surveys, which would have made it impossible during the shutdown and very difficult to get information retroactively.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis also said the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index “is to be rescheduled,” though no firm date has been announced, CNBC reported. That report is the main inflation forecasting tool that the Fed uses.

Minutes from the Fed’s October meeting show that the officials disagreed on whether to lower interest rates at the December meeting after it approved back-to-back reductions.

Each of the last two meetings ended with them lowering the rate by .25% to a now-3.7% to 4%.

“This is a temporary state of affairs. And we’re going to do our jobs, we’re going to collect every scrap of data we can find, evaluate it, and think carefully about it,” CNBC reported Fed Chair Jerome Powell said after the October meeting.

“What do you do if you’re driving in the fog? You slow down. … There’s a possibility that it would make sense to be more cautious about moving.”

New York Fed President John Williams said Friday he thinks the central bank probably has “room for a further adjustment in the near term,” implying a potential cut.

A for sale sign is seen outside a home in Arlington, Virginia. On Monday, the Trump administration confirmed it is working on a 50-year fixed-rate mortgage to pull more buyers into the housing market. File Photo by Alexis C. Glenn/UPI | License Photo

Nov. 10 (UPI) — The Trump administration is working on a plan to introduce a 50-year fixed-rate mortgage with the goal of making homeownership more affordable for millions of Americans, as some analysts warn of hidden costs.

Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte confirmed the report, saying the proposed 50-year loan would lower monthly payments to bring more buyers into the housing market.

“Thanks to President Trump, we are indeed working on The 50-year Mortgage — a complete game changer,” Pulte wrote Saturday in a post on X. Trump has compared the plan to the 30-year mortgage from President Franklin D. Roosevelt‘s New Deal.

“We hear you. We are laser focused on ensuring the American Dream for young people and that can only happen on the economic level of home buying,” Pulte added. “A 50-year mortgage is simply a potential weapon in a wide arsenal of solutions that we are developing right now: stay tuned.”

The housing market has grown stagnate over the past three years as younger Americans are unable to afford the payments that come with a 30-year fixed rate at more than 6% interest. To add to that, inventory is depleted as homeowners are locked in to their houses with the lower interest rates of the COVID-19 economy.

Both Pulte and Trump have blamed Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell for hiking interest rates to curb inflation and then keeping rates “artificially high.”

While a 50-year mortgage would lower monthly payments, it would also prevent homeowners from building equity as quickly. Over the life of the loan, the amount of interest paid to lenders would be 40% higher, according to analysts who also warn about the need for congressional approval.

“Fannie and Freddie could establish a secondary market for 50-year mortgages in advance of policy changes. They even could buy mortgages for their retained portfolios,” Jaret Seiberg, a financial services and housing policy analyst at TD Cowen, wrote in a note to clients.

“Yet this would not alter the legal liability for lenders. It is why we believe lenders will not originate 50-year mortgages absent qualified mortgage policy changes,” Seiberg said, adding congressional approval could take up to a year to meet the definition of a qualified mortgage under the Dodd-Frank Act.