Why Kevin Hassett Appears to Be Trump’s Pick for the Next Fed Chair

WSJ What’s News

The Wall Street Journal

Daily News, News

4 • 4K Ratings

🗓️ 3 December 2025

⏱️ 12 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

P.M. Edition for Dec. 3. President Trump is closing in on his pick to succeed Jerome Powell as the Federal Reserve chair. WSJ’s chief economics correspondent Nick Timiraos explains why longtime Trump adviser Kevin Hassett is winning the race. A Pentagon review found that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated departmental regulations with Signalgate—but the findings suggest Hegseth didn’t break the law. And WSJ’s national security reporter Lara Seligman reports on why the Pentagon is deploying new drones copied from Iran’s Shahed drones to the Middle East. Sabrina Siddiqui hosts. Sign up for the WSJ's free What's News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:22.2	Find out more at arm.com forward slash discover.
0:30.0	President Trump appears to be closing in on his pick to lead the Federal Reserve.
0:36.7	I guess a potential Fed chair is here, too.
0:39.7	I don't know.
0:40.8	We're allowed to say that.
0:42.1	Potential is a respected person that I can tell you.
0:46.8	Thank you, Kevin.
0:47.8	Plus, a Pentagon watchdog finds that Defense Secretary Pete Heggsett's use of the messaging app
0:53.6	signal violated department
0:55.6	regulations.
0:57.5	And, President Trump is rolling back the rule that requires cars to get 50 miles a gallon.
1:04.1	It's Wednesday, December 3rd.
1:05.9	I'm Sabrina Siddiqui for the Wall Street Journal, filling in for Alex Oslo.
1:09.9	This is the PM edition of What's News, the top headlines and business stories that move the world today.
1:17.3	As the question of who the next Federal Reserve Chair will be looms large, the White House
1:22.4	abruptly canceled interviews that were scheduled for this week with a group of finalists being
1:27.0	considered for the job. The interviews are part of the formal process for choosing who succeeds Jerome Powell,
1:32.8	whose term expires in mid-May. But President Trump has publicly said that he has already narrowed the
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