Last night, news broke that Trump suddenly canceled the final interview round for the Fed chair candidates. The reason? Apparently, the pick had already been decided.

This isn’t just a simple matter of replacing the chair. Keep in mind, the Federal Reserve has operated independently for over seventy years. Now it looks like Trump is determined to turn the world’s most influential central bank into a tool at his disposal.

# The pick is basically a done deal

All signs are pointing to one person—Kevin Hassett, the current director of the White House National Economic Council.

Trump recently called him a “potential Fed chair” in public, which pretty much says it all. Why him?

The reasoning is pretty straightforward. Hassett is a longtime member of Trump’s economic team—he used to be chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, and now he heads the National Economic Council. Loyalty isn’t even a question.

His policy stance is also very much in line with Trump. He used to talk about maintaining the Fed’s independence, but this year he’s changed his tune, openly supporting calls for rate cuts and criticizing the current chair, Powell, for being “too slow to act.”

To put it plainly, Trump nominated Powell hoping he’d cooperate. But what happened? They often clashed. This time, Trump’s learned his lesson and is going straight for someone who will listen.

# What’s the calculation behind this?

Why is Trump willing to risk undermining the dollar’s credibility just to take control of the Fed?

**First, to support tariff policies.** Large-scale tariffs could drag down economic growth, and rate cuts can offset that impact, allowing him to keep pushing his trade agenda.

**Second, to ease debt pressure.** U.S. national debt has exceeded $38 trillion. In a high interest rate environment, just the interest payments cost over $1 trillion a year. If rates are cut sharply, that could save a lot.

**Third, to fully control economic policy.** By holding both monetary policy and fiscal policy (tax cuts, tariffs) in his hands, he can stimulate the economy entirely on his own terms. Ultimately, it’s all about paving the way for re-election.

How will the markets react? If the dollar’s independence is truly compromised, global capital flows might be reshuffled.