The list of candidates for the next chairperson of the Federal Reserve has been narrowed down to five people, including board members Bauman and Woller.

According to a media report on Friday, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has narrowed down the list of candidates for Federal Reserve Chair from 11 to 5 and plans to further shorten the list before submitting it to President Trump, a process that may take place after Thanksgiving. Senior officials from the Treasury Department revealed that the current list of candidates includes two Fed governors - Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman and Christopher Waller, Director of the National Economic Council Kevin Hassett, former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh, and Rick Rieder, Chief Investment Officer at BlackRock. The Federal Reserve Chair holds significant influence in setting the agenda for monetary policy - primarily through setting short-term interest rates for interbank borrowing, implementing bank regulation, and managing payment systems. These officials stated that the Federal Reserve Chair nominee can be submitted to the Fed by January, but may not necessarily serve as chair. If the final choice for Fed Chair has not previously served on the Federal Reserve Board, the president will need to nominate them to that board and receive Senate approval. Stephen Milan's term on the board will end on January 31st, 2026. (Milan was sworn in on September 16th, 2025, succeeding Adriana Kugler who resigned in August.) Although Fed Chair Jerome Powell's term as chair is set to end in May, his term as governor will continue until January 31, 2028. He has not yet indicated whether he will follow tradition and step down as a governor after his term as chair ends. Regardless of whether Trump's choice for Fed Chair has received approval from the Fed Board, the nominee will still need to undergo confirmation by the US Senate before officially taking office. It is reported that Secretary Yellen, the Treasury Department, and White House officials plan to conduct another round of interviews with all five candidates in the coming weeks. Due to the busy schedule of the Treasury Secretary, including attending meetings with the World Bank/IMF next week and accompanying the president on a visit to Asia, this round of interviews may not be completed until after the Thanksgiving holiday.