WEBVTT - Fed Chair Scott Bessent? The Race to Replace Jay Powell 

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<v Speaker 1>Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news.

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<v Speaker 2>President Trump says his decision on who he'll pick to

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<v Speaker 2>succeed Jerome Powell as Chair of the Federal Reserve is

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<v Speaker 2>coming out very soon. That's what he told reporters on

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<v Speaker 2>Air Force one last Friday. The President hasn't been shy

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<v Speaker 2>about criticizing Powell and Powell's approach to monetary policy. After

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<v Speaker 2>we got new inflation numbers on Wednesday morning, Trump immediately

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<v Speaker 2>took to truth social to demand the Fed lower interest

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<v Speaker 2>rates by a full point. Powell's term is chair expires

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<v Speaker 2>in May of twenty twenty six. That's less than a

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<v Speaker 2>year from now. But in recent weeks, President Trump seems

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<v Speaker 2>to have accelerated his search for the next head of

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<v Speaker 2>the Fed. Nancy Cook covers politics for Bloomberg.

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<v Speaker 1>It is something that people inside the administration and outside

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<v Speaker 1>are starting to think about, particularly as Trump grows more

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<v Speaker 1>and more frustrated with the Federal Reserve not cutting interest

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<v Speaker 1>rates and he feels like that is a threat to

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<v Speaker 1>his own economic agenda.

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<v Speaker 2>Kevin Warsh was long thought to be the front runner.

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<v Speaker 2>He's a former Fed governor, but now there's a new

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<v Speaker 2>name under consideration. According to reporting, from Nancy Cook and

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<v Speaker 2>my co host Seleiah Mosen And that is Scott Bessont,

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<v Speaker 2>the current Treasury secretary.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, a lot of the finance people that Sleay

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<v Speaker 1>and I talked to sort of consider him the adult

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<v Speaker 1>in the administration, has sort of great presence, is doing

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of good policy stuff, and so it's interesting

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<v Speaker 1>that his name is emerging to.

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<v Speaker 2>Then, of course, there is Trump's signature style when considering

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<v Speaker 2>a high profile nomination like this.

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<v Speaker 3>How many more names can we put in there that

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<v Speaker 3>makes Trump feel like he's got this apprentice style option

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<v Speaker 3>in front of him.

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<v Speaker 2>Bestt responded to a question about Nancy and Selia's reporting

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<v Speaker 2>during a hearing before the House Weighs and Means Committee

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<v Speaker 2>on Wednesday. I am happy to do what President Trump wants.

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<v Speaker 3>Me to do.

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<v Speaker 2>He said, he has what he views as one of

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<v Speaker 2>the best jobs in Washington, listed his goals for the

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<v Speaker 2>Treasury under his leadership, and concluded.

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<v Speaker 3>And I would like to stay in my seat through

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<v Speaker 3>twenty twenty nine to do that.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm David Gerret and this is the Big Take from

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<v Speaker 2>Bloomberg News Today. On the show, Seleia and Nancy joined

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<v Speaker 2>me to talk about their scoop and about what the

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<v Speaker 2>President wants in a FED chair, what could be appealing

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<v Speaker 2>to him about Scott bessen't in that role, and the

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<v Speaker 2>state of play, what Trump is saying about when he'll

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<v Speaker 2>make his decision, Nancy. Before we get into who President

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<v Speaker 2>Trump wants to be the next FED chair, let's start

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<v Speaker 2>with what the President wants in a FED chair. What's

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<v Speaker 2>he looking for?

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<v Speaker 1>Well, I think President Trump has been so frustrated by

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<v Speaker 1>the FED dating back to even his first term. He

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<v Speaker 1>was frustrated with J. Powell, then he's frustrated with J.

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<v Speaker 1>Powell now, and I think that what he really wants is,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, someone who follows his economic lead a little

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<v Speaker 1>bit more on what the FED should be doing, particular

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<v Speaker 1>interest rates, and he wants someone who is going to

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<v Speaker 1>make him look good on the economy, sort of do

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<v Speaker 1>what he wants, follow his lead. I don't think that

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<v Speaker 1>that Trump wants a total sikofan who he can call

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<v Speaker 1>up and just say you better do this this month.

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<v Speaker 1>But I think he wants someone more malleable than Jay

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<v Speaker 1>Powell is.

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<v Speaker 2>Right now, we've heard a lot about FED independence and Seleiah,

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<v Speaker 2>let me ask you about that. You write in your piece.

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<v Speaker 2>This person will have to prove to the world that

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<v Speaker 2>the Fed's independence from political meddling remains intact. Is there

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<v Speaker 2>a universal definition of what FED independence is?

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<v Speaker 3>The Federal Reserve is held to a very different standard

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<v Speaker 3>than any other central bank because of the immense power

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<v Speaker 3>that has across every economy, emerging markets, frontier markets, developed economies,

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<v Speaker 3>g seven countries, the rich countries, the poor countries, and

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<v Speaker 3>the world wants this central bank, the most powerful one,

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<v Speaker 3>to be above politics because they don't want to be

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<v Speaker 3>looking at short or medium term goals for the economy,

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<v Speaker 3>but long term goals, and politicians are looking at midterms

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<v Speaker 3>or an eighteen month or Senate elections are coming up,

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<v Speaker 3>where presidential cycle is coming up. I want to jews

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<v Speaker 3>and goose the economy. So they want someone who is

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<v Speaker 3>above an independent from any kind of political meddling that

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<v Speaker 3>has to do with an elected official.

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<v Speaker 2>Nancy I said, we get from the what to the who.

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<v Speaker 2>So who is President Trump? Considering what have you learned?

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<v Speaker 1>So Slayne I wrote a story yesterday just saying that

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<v Speaker 1>the Treasury Secretary Scott Besson is under consideration for the

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<v Speaker 1>FED job. And this is news because it's a new

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<v Speaker 1>name that we hadn't heard before. Kevin Walsh, who was

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<v Speaker 1>a Fed governor at one point and Trump considered in

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<v Speaker 1>his first term, is still in the mix as well.

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<v Speaker 1>But it's really interesting that Scott Bessant has emerged, because

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<v Speaker 1>you know, he's Treasury secretary. He sort of barely got

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<v Speaker 1>the Treasury secretary job, but people inside the administration and

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<v Speaker 1>on Wall Street have been very impressed by the way

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<v Speaker 1>he's handled a lot of trade talks, by the way

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<v Speaker 1>he has handled Trump, by the way he's calmed markets

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<v Speaker 1>in Wall Street.

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<v Speaker 2>Without giving away secrets or sourcing sort of how did

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<v Speaker 2>you learn about this learn his name is in the running?

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<v Speaker 2>Is this process unfold?

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<v Speaker 3>Well?

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<v Speaker 1>Selene I said next to each other in the office,

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<v Speaker 1>just to give you a little bit of a view

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<v Speaker 1>of the DC office. And so she and I sort

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<v Speaker 1>of talked to each other all day long, and we're

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<v Speaker 1>both really interested in economics and politics, and so she

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<v Speaker 1>had said to me last week, oh, you know, I

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<v Speaker 1>hear Scott besson for a feed, isn't that interesting? And

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<v Speaker 1>so we both just started sort of asking sources and

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<v Speaker 1>talking to people, you know, around DC, around Wall Street,

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<v Speaker 1>throughout the political organizations, and his name kept coming up,

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<v Speaker 1>and it came up often enough that we feel comfortable

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<v Speaker 1>reporting it.

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<v Speaker 2>Selea, You reached out to the Treasury Secretary to Scott

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<v Speaker 2>bessen for comment. What did he tell you?

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<v Speaker 3>His comment was interesting, was on the record, and he

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<v Speaker 3>said that I have the best job in Washington, and

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<v Speaker 3>it is up to the president to decide who is

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<v Speaker 3>going to oversee the US economy. I found it interesting

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<v Speaker 3>that he didn't take that moment to outright deny it.

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<v Speaker 3>He didn't say I'm not going to comment on the

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<v Speaker 3>story at all or thread the needle. Somehow he decided

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<v Speaker 3>to just not fan the flats, but not put the

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<v Speaker 3>story down.

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<v Speaker 2>So that's what the Treasury secretary said to you. What

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<v Speaker 2>did the White House say?

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<v Speaker 3>The White House said that this is fake news.

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<v Speaker 2>They dispute the premise of the piece that they say

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<v Speaker 2>that he's not in the running.

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<v Speaker 3>They said that this is not an accurate report.

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<v Speaker 1>Actually, the senior administration official just said to me, this

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<v Speaker 1>is fake news and then wouldn't get into the specifics

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<v Speaker 1>about what was wrong or what was fake, but this

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<v Speaker 1>was their party line.

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<v Speaker 2>You know. So, lay before President Trump picked Scott Bessont

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<v Speaker 2>to be as Treasury Secretary, you and I had conversations

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<v Speaker 2>about who the president was looking at to be on

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<v Speaker 2>his economic team. Was there any indication that this was

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<v Speaker 2>a job, this being the FED chair was a job

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<v Speaker 2>that Scott Bessant was interested in.

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<v Speaker 3>At the time. No, I had not heard this when

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<v Speaker 3>I started hearing just recently that Bessant was his name

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<v Speaker 3>was percolating for FED chair. I was a little surprised

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<v Speaker 3>because throughout the campaign trail last year, during the presidential

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<v Speaker 3>campaign cycle, Bessant was out there as a vocal booster

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<v Speaker 3>of Trump's economic policy, as a Republican, as a card

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<v Speaker 3>carrying MAGA economic populist who wanted to help build Trump's policies.

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<v Speaker 3>When you want to be FED chair, you behave more

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<v Speaker 3>like Kevin worsh You're behind the scenes. You're not out

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<v Speaker 3>there so much sort of outwardly and obviously talking about

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<v Speaker 3>how the current Treasure secretary is bad and the current

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<v Speaker 3>president is bad, because you're supposed to be a little

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<v Speaker 3>bit above that as FED chair traditionally.

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<v Speaker 1>Part of the reason that it's so surprising, David is

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<v Speaker 1>just that Besson spent so long campaigning to be Treasury Secretary.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, he was out there during the twenty twenty

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<v Speaker 1>four campaign, you know, going on TV, writing op eds.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, I would travel with Trump and he would

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<v Speaker 1>be on the campaign plane. I mean, it was just

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of jocking to get this job. And you

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<v Speaker 1>have to remember that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnik also really

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<v Speaker 1>wanted the job. The Treasury Secretary is such a plumb

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<v Speaker 1>job that there was just a lot of effort that

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<v Speaker 1>he expended to get it. And I'm not saying that

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<v Speaker 1>he's now campaigning to get the Fed chair job. I

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<v Speaker 1>think that it's more that people are eyeing him for it.

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<v Speaker 1>But it is interesting because I feel like he wanted

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<v Speaker 1>Treasury so badly narrowly got it, and it's interesting now

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<v Speaker 1>that there are people both inside and outside the administration

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<v Speaker 1>that are now already thinking about him for, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>a different job.

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<v Speaker 2>Nancy, what have you observed about the dynamic between the

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<v Speaker 2>President and Scott Best at the Treasury Secretary over these

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<v Speaker 2>last six months or so.

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<v Speaker 1>I feel like when Scott Essant first got in to Treasury,

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<v Speaker 1>he had sort of a steep learning curve, and so

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<v Speaker 1>what I was hearing from my reporting was that some

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<v Speaker 1>of his picks for IRS Commissioner, for instance, like that

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<v Speaker 1>wasn't you know, Billy Long was not his pick, and

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<v Speaker 1>so there were definitely key nominees, a sort of under

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<v Speaker 1>treasury that the White House was ignoring his advice on.

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<v Speaker 1>And also when he first got in, I think, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>he was excluded from some of the political stuff and

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<v Speaker 1>he didn't have as much political juice as you know

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<v Speaker 1>other people, and a lot of his aids are super

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<v Speaker 1>smart but are more of like the economist types and

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<v Speaker 1>sort of couldn't in the West wing with the political people.

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<v Speaker 1>That really changed when the trade talks really blew up,

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<v Speaker 1>when the financial markets, particularly the bond markets, really reacted

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<v Speaker 1>to the tariffs and a lot of Trump's trade policy,

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<v Speaker 1>Scott Bessant was the one who was able to talk

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<v Speaker 1>Trump off the ledge on the tariffs and sort of

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<v Speaker 1>put a pause on them. He was also able to

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<v Speaker 1>calm the markets, and I think at that point that

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<v Speaker 1>was sort of the inflection point for him politically, sort

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<v Speaker 1>of inside the White House and just the administration when

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<v Speaker 1>people thought, Okay, this guy is a real player. Trump

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<v Speaker 1>listens to him and he actually has some juice.

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<v Speaker 2>Se Leiah, do we have a sense of how a

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<v Speaker 2>fed share of Scott Bessant would operate how he'd approached

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<v Speaker 2>this job.

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<v Speaker 3>I was talking to some of our FED colleagues or

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<v Speaker 3>reporters who covered the FED, and they were saying, it's

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<v Speaker 3>interesting that because Bessant has been in public policy in

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<v Speaker 3>the public sector for less than two hundred days and

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<v Speaker 3>he's had a couple of wins in terms of helping

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<v Speaker 3>to calm markets and temper some of the trade policy

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<v Speaker 3>that was coming out, and markets trust him all of

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<v Speaker 3>a sudden, and he could become FED chair based on

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<v Speaker 3>just that performance. And we've seen how in the past

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<v Speaker 3>year Bessent has managed to get Trump to be a

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<v Speaker 3>little bit calmer when it comes to talking about Jay Powell.

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<v Speaker 3>He was on the brink of firing him in twenty

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<v Speaker 3>eighteen and nineteen, and now he didn't write off the

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<v Speaker 3>batfire j Powell, when he's done a lot of bold

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<v Speaker 3>moves when he came back into government. There are a

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<v Speaker 3>lot of signs that besson is behind some of that

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<v Speaker 3>tempering or reporting has shown. That's one reason that people

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<v Speaker 3>in the White House and outside of the White House

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<v Speaker 3>like Bessont because he can handle Trump. But I don't

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<v Speaker 3>know whether he would be hawkish or dubvish, and how

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<v Speaker 3>he would react because we just don't know enough about

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<v Speaker 3>Bessent and his thoughts on monetary policy.

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<v Speaker 2>After the break, what we know about how Scott Bessont

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<v Speaker 2>could stack up against Kevin Warsh, what it could mean

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<v Speaker 2>for the economy if Trump names the next FED chair,

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<v Speaker 2>this bar in advance and the economic challenges facing the

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<v Speaker 2>next FED Chair, whoever it may be. Jerome Powell has

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<v Speaker 2>almost a year left in his term as Federal Reserve Chair,

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<v Speaker 2>but the Trump administration is moving ahead in considering his successor.

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<v Speaker 2>I spoke with Bloomberg, Sealiah Mosen and Nancy Cook about

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<v Speaker 2>how that's playing out. Nancy, where are we in this process?

0:11:24.840 --> 0:11:26.959
<v Speaker 2>We've heard different things from different members of the administration

0:11:27.040 --> 0:11:29.520
<v Speaker 2>about the timetable, but what's your sense of how this

0:11:29.600 --> 0:11:30.240
<v Speaker 2>is unfolding?

0:11:30.400 --> 0:11:33.080
<v Speaker 1>So my sense is that from our story we reported

0:11:33.120 --> 0:11:36.000
<v Speaker 1>that no formal interviews have taken place, But just to

0:11:36.040 --> 0:11:39.320
<v Speaker 1>be clear, Trump has interviewed Kevin Walsh before he interviewed

0:11:39.360 --> 0:11:42.560
<v Speaker 1>him to be FED chair during his last term when

0:11:42.600 --> 0:11:45.439
<v Speaker 1>he ended up picking j. Powell, which was something he regretted,

0:11:46.040 --> 0:11:48.760
<v Speaker 1>and he interviewed Kevin Walsh to be Treasury Secretary. Like

0:11:48.840 --> 0:11:53.040
<v Speaker 1>Trump knows all the players sort of in the orbit

0:11:53.120 --> 0:11:55.800
<v Speaker 1>of people he could potentially pick already. He knows Kevin Walsh,

0:11:55.840 --> 0:11:59.040
<v Speaker 1>he knows Scott Besant, Chris Waller, who's a current FED governor.

0:11:59.400 --> 0:12:03.040
<v Speaker 3>Chris Waller or is someone who Trump nominated to the

0:12:03.080 --> 0:12:06.360
<v Speaker 3>board the first time around. Advisors were impressed with him.

0:12:06.440 --> 0:12:09.960
<v Speaker 3>They've been watching carefully what he's been advising the Fed

0:12:10.000 --> 0:12:11.720
<v Speaker 3>to do, what he's been doing with his vote on

0:12:11.760 --> 0:12:15.440
<v Speaker 3>the Fed for interest rates. There's also David Malpass. His

0:12:15.520 --> 0:12:17.840
<v Speaker 3>name has come up. He was the World Bank President.

0:12:17.880 --> 0:12:20.480
<v Speaker 3>He's been in Trump's orbit for a long time. I

0:12:20.480 --> 0:12:22.560
<v Speaker 3>don't know how serious that is, but his name has

0:12:22.600 --> 0:12:24.559
<v Speaker 3>come up. And then the other name is Kevin Hassett,

0:12:24.559 --> 0:12:28.520
<v Speaker 3>who is right now Trump's White House National Economic Council Director.

0:12:28.840 --> 0:12:32.160
<v Speaker 3>It's also unclear just how seriously he's being considered.

0:12:32.840 --> 0:12:36.080
<v Speaker 1>And Trump on Air Force One on Friday night was

0:12:36.120 --> 0:12:38.520
<v Speaker 1>asked about this and said, oh, you know, it's something

0:12:38.559 --> 0:12:41.040
<v Speaker 1>that we're considering. We're getting close. And then he was

0:12:41.080 --> 0:12:43.160
<v Speaker 1>asked what he thought about Kevin Walsh, and he said

0:12:43.200 --> 0:12:45.920
<v Speaker 1>he thought very highly of him. Now, Trump also sort

0:12:45.920 --> 0:12:48.200
<v Speaker 1>of can be fuzzy with timelines, and we'll always say

0:12:48.200 --> 0:12:50.959
<v Speaker 1>something is two weeks away when actually, like you know,

0:12:51.000 --> 0:12:53.920
<v Speaker 1>who knows when it'll happen. He knows that the economy,

0:12:54.080 --> 0:12:56.480
<v Speaker 1>and his advisors know the economy will be a very

0:12:56.640 --> 0:12:59.440
<v Speaker 1>key thing for the midterms, and that's something they're already

0:12:59.440 --> 0:13:02.560
<v Speaker 1>thinking about, and so I could see them wanting to

0:13:03.240 --> 0:13:05.880
<v Speaker 1>at least name a FED chair sort of sooner rather

0:13:05.920 --> 0:13:09.040
<v Speaker 1>than later, even though Jay Powell's term as Fedchair does

0:13:09.080 --> 0:13:10.880
<v Speaker 1>not end until May twenty twenty six.

0:13:11.559 --> 0:13:13.880
<v Speaker 2>So, Leiah, this gets to something that we heard Scott

0:13:13.920 --> 0:13:16.640
<v Speaker 2>Besson float during the Trump campaign, and that is that

0:13:16.679 --> 0:13:19.520
<v Speaker 2>there could be this shadow FED chair. This is something

0:13:19.559 --> 0:13:22.839
<v Speaker 2>he walked back in the months that followed him proposing that.

0:13:22.880 --> 0:13:25.120
<v Speaker 2>But you could get the president to nominate somebody who's

0:13:25.200 --> 0:13:28.240
<v Speaker 2>essentially the heir apparent to Jay Powell while Jay Powell's

0:13:28.240 --> 0:13:32.000
<v Speaker 2>in that job, and he or she could opine on

0:13:32.400 --> 0:13:34.440
<v Speaker 2>what he or she would be doing as FED chair

0:13:35.240 --> 0:13:38.200
<v Speaker 2>or that person in that position. Could you just walk

0:13:38.240 --> 0:13:40.920
<v Speaker 2>us through what the consequences of that would be, both

0:13:40.960 --> 0:13:43.280
<v Speaker 2>for the FED and for investors as well. If you

0:13:43.360 --> 0:13:45.680
<v Speaker 2>had somebody who's kind of in waiting for the job

0:13:46.080 --> 0:13:48.920
<v Speaker 2>opining on monetary policy and what might happen next.

0:13:49.040 --> 0:13:50.720
<v Speaker 3>Well, the one thing to remember, is that the Senate

0:13:50.720 --> 0:13:52.720
<v Speaker 3>has to confirm whoever is going to get this job.

0:13:53.000 --> 0:13:55.680
<v Speaker 3>So far, all signs point to a Congress who wants

0:13:55.720 --> 0:13:59.440
<v Speaker 3>to maintain the current status quo of FED independence, and

0:13:59.480 --> 0:14:01.240
<v Speaker 3>so that is the be a big question for them

0:14:01.920 --> 0:14:03.480
<v Speaker 3>when it comes to the shadow chair. I'm glad you

0:14:03.520 --> 0:14:05.840
<v Speaker 3>brought this up, because Besson did talk about this. He

0:14:05.880 --> 0:14:09.880
<v Speaker 3>floated this in October. It was immediately widely panned that

0:14:09.960 --> 0:14:13.320
<v Speaker 3>this is a terrible idea, and it would create a

0:14:13.480 --> 0:14:16.920
<v Speaker 3>lot of confusion because then you would have a sitting

0:14:16.960 --> 0:14:21.520
<v Speaker 3>FED chair who is navigating a board. Everyone has a

0:14:21.560 --> 0:14:24.200
<v Speaker 3>say in interest rates, it's not the chair who decides.

0:14:24.880 --> 0:14:27.760
<v Speaker 3>You would have all of those people making public speeches

0:14:27.960 --> 0:14:31.160
<v Speaker 3>minutes come out of meetings, you have the actual press

0:14:31.200 --> 0:14:34.680
<v Speaker 3>statement in the chair's press conference when there are other

0:14:34.840 --> 0:14:37.480
<v Speaker 3>interest rate decisions, and then Trump always wants to post

0:14:37.480 --> 0:14:39.560
<v Speaker 3>on truth social and also make comments about the FED.

0:14:39.600 --> 0:14:42.360
<v Speaker 3>And then you would have this other person also, whether

0:14:42.360 --> 0:14:44.880
<v Speaker 3>it's Worsh or Besson or Waller or some other person,

0:14:45.320 --> 0:14:50.520
<v Speaker 3>providing quote forward guidance as the shadow Chair in waiting

0:14:50.920 --> 0:14:53.320
<v Speaker 3>who has not been confirmed by the Senate. So who

0:14:53.360 --> 0:14:55.880
<v Speaker 3>knows if it's really going to happen, and especially if

0:14:55.880 --> 0:14:59.920
<v Speaker 3>it's a sitting Treasury secretary, it's going to really confuse market.

0:15:00.240 --> 0:15:03.840
<v Speaker 3>And I think that we've seen how sensitive markets have

0:15:03.880 --> 0:15:08.280
<v Speaker 3>become to the way people in Washington are speaking about

0:15:08.400 --> 0:15:12.000
<v Speaker 3>policy coming up ahead. And we're also seeing how the

0:15:12.000 --> 0:15:14.960
<v Speaker 3>thirty year bond and the dollar and American assets are

0:15:15.000 --> 0:15:18.760
<v Speaker 3>tearing on the edge of maybe not demise, but just

0:15:18.800 --> 0:15:21.360
<v Speaker 3>something a little scary. We don't know what's around the corner,

0:15:21.520 --> 0:15:25.040
<v Speaker 3>and I think that's just going to compound that effect.

0:15:25.680 --> 0:15:28.120
<v Speaker 2>Nancy. I'm hearing both of you talk about this, and

0:15:28.160 --> 0:15:30.840
<v Speaker 2>I can't help but think of kind of Dick Cheney

0:15:31.160 --> 0:15:34.320
<v Speaker 2>circa two thousand when he was kind of charged with

0:15:34.440 --> 0:15:38.080
<v Speaker 2>picking George W. Bush's running mate, and lo and behold

0:15:38.800 --> 0:15:40.640
<v Speaker 2>he became that running mate. There is a kind of

0:15:40.640 --> 0:15:41.760
<v Speaker 2>funny echo there isn't there.

0:15:42.480 --> 0:15:44.760
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, And there was that echo during the transition with

0:15:44.760 --> 0:15:48.480
<v Speaker 1>Howard Luttnik, who was running the personnel part of the

0:15:48.520 --> 0:15:52.640
<v Speaker 1>presidential transition and then put himself up for Treasury secretary.

0:15:53.080 --> 0:15:55.160
<v Speaker 1>I don't have any evidence that Bess and slay and

0:15:55.240 --> 0:15:57.920
<v Speaker 1>I haven't seen any evidence of sort of him waging

0:15:57.960 --> 0:16:00.080
<v Speaker 1>this quiet political campaign for it. But I do think

0:16:00.120 --> 0:16:04.120
<v Speaker 1>that people are just impressed with him, and it's natural

0:16:04.200 --> 0:16:06.520
<v Speaker 1>that this is such a key job for Trump. This

0:16:06.600 --> 0:16:08.800
<v Speaker 1>is something that Trump has been very focused on, and

0:16:08.840 --> 0:16:11.320
<v Speaker 1>so I think it's natural that the people around him

0:16:11.320 --> 0:16:14.000
<v Speaker 1>would look around and think, Okay, who could fill that slot?

0:16:14.600 --> 0:16:17.040
<v Speaker 1>And I think the question is, though, the problem with

0:16:17.160 --> 0:16:19.240
<v Speaker 1>Besson as a pick, if we were to just do

0:16:19.240 --> 0:16:21.920
<v Speaker 1>a hypothetical on that, is that they also really like

0:16:22.000 --> 0:16:24.200
<v Speaker 1>him as Treasury secretary. So if you pick him for

0:16:24.240 --> 0:16:27.760
<v Speaker 1>the FED, who do you put in a Treasury Walsh, though,

0:16:27.800 --> 0:16:31.880
<v Speaker 1>has been auditioning for this job for years. You know,

0:16:31.920 --> 0:16:34.120
<v Speaker 1>he wanted the job in Trump's first term. He didn't

0:16:34.160 --> 0:16:37.320
<v Speaker 1>get it. He went down tomorrow lago and interviewed with

0:16:37.360 --> 0:16:40.360
<v Speaker 1>Trump for the Treasury secretary. I think with the idea

0:16:40.400 --> 0:16:43.000
<v Speaker 1>that actually he wanted the FED job. You know, he

0:16:43.240 --> 0:16:46.600
<v Speaker 1>is outed Hoover sort of giving more political speeches. Like

0:16:46.840 --> 0:16:50.720
<v Speaker 1>I just I can't stress how long this campaign, how

0:16:50.760 --> 0:16:53.080
<v Speaker 1>long his campaign for this job has been going on,

0:16:53.800 --> 0:16:56.080
<v Speaker 1>and so it will just be super interesting to me

0:16:56.440 --> 0:16:58.880
<v Speaker 1>if he doesn't get it, and if there's another candidate

0:16:59.000 --> 0:17:01.440
<v Speaker 1>like Bessen who gets it, or just someone else who emerges.

0:17:02.600 --> 0:17:05.520
<v Speaker 2>That's just the last question here. Maybe you could describe

0:17:05.680 --> 0:17:09.119
<v Speaker 2>what's going to be on this next FED SHARE's desk

0:17:09.359 --> 0:17:11.960
<v Speaker 2>when he or she starts. What does that person face

0:17:12.200 --> 0:17:14.080
<v Speaker 2>coming into the job in twenty twenty six.

0:17:14.440 --> 0:17:16.439
<v Speaker 1>Well, I just think that we don't know what's going

0:17:16.480 --> 0:17:19.000
<v Speaker 1>to happen with the economy, and I think the tariffs

0:17:19.119 --> 0:17:21.480
<v Speaker 1>and how Trump handles them and the effect that they

0:17:21.480 --> 0:17:24.480
<v Speaker 1>have on the economy is just the huge question mark.

0:17:24.760 --> 0:17:28.240
<v Speaker 1>We are seeing economic growth slow down, We don't know

0:17:28.280 --> 0:17:30.960
<v Speaker 1>what's going to happen with this tax package that Republicans

0:17:31.000 --> 0:17:32.480
<v Speaker 1>are going to try to pass, and so I just

0:17:32.520 --> 0:17:35.720
<v Speaker 1>think that this is a summer of real economic uncertainty

0:17:35.760 --> 0:17:38.760
<v Speaker 1>in the US, and whoever takes over that FED job,

0:17:39.040 --> 0:17:41.240
<v Speaker 1>you know, even if it's not till twenty twenty six,

0:17:41.359 --> 0:17:44.600
<v Speaker 1>will face sort of a lot and of uncertainty about

0:17:44.640 --> 0:17:47.440
<v Speaker 1>what the economy looks like potentially. And then just sort

0:17:47.440 --> 0:17:51.480
<v Speaker 1>of the whipsaw nature of Trump's economic policy making. You know,

0:17:51.520 --> 0:17:54.080
<v Speaker 1>there's tariffs one day, no tariffs another day, Like what

0:17:54.119 --> 0:17:56.760
<v Speaker 1>does that actually look like? And how does that seep

0:17:56.800 --> 0:17:59.639
<v Speaker 1>into the job market, what does that look like for

0:17:59.720 --> 0:18:02.920
<v Speaker 1>wage inflation? You know, all those things, and I think

0:18:02.920 --> 0:18:04.400
<v Speaker 1>it's just going to be a real question Mark.

0:18:14.040 --> 0:18:16.920
<v Speaker 2>This is the Big Take from Bloomberg News. I'm David Gurat.

0:18:16.920 --> 0:18:19.600
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0:18:19.680 --> 0:18:23.040
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0:18:26.880 --> 0:18:29.000
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<v Speaker 2>Thanks for listening. We'll be back tomorrow