President Trump's search for a successor to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell has made new progress. According to officials familiar with the matter, Rick Rieder, BlackRock's chief investment officer for global fixed income and a prominent Wall Street strategist, has been added to the shortlist, along with 10 other candidates being considered by the White House.



The White House has not yet disclosed the specific reasons for Reid's selection. Neither BlackRock nor Reid responded to requests for comment. CNBC reported that another Wall Street heavyweight, Jefferies Chief Market Strategist David Zervos, was also on the list.

Currently, the open candidates include:

Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman

James Bullard, former St. Louis Fed President

Kevin Hassett, Director of the National Economic Council

Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Philip Jefferson

Lawrence Lindsey, former Federal Reserve Governor and former Director of the National Economic Council under President George W. Bush

Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan

Mark Saumlin, who worked on economic policy in the Bush administration

Christopher Waller, Federal Reserve Governor

Kevin Warsh, former Federal Reserve Governor

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Bloomberg News on Wednesday that the administration is considering private sector candidates for Federal Reserve chairman and reiterated his belief that the Fed should cut the federal funds rate by 150 to 175 basis points. Trump told reporters in Washington that day that the list of candidates has been narrowed to "three or four."

The process sparked heated debate on social media, with some commentators mocking Trump for treating the selection of Powell's successor as a season of "The Apprentice," a reality show he once hosted. Trump has long criticized the Federal Reserve, led by Powell, for its reluctance to cut interest rates this year. The Fed last cut rates in December and has held them steady since then.

Reid's Market View: The Best Investment Environment Ever

Just one day before the news of his selection came out, Reed said in an interview that he believed the current investment environment was "the best ever."

Reed acknowledged that high stock prices and low yield spreads could suggest a degree of complacency, but noted that the technical picture is very attractive: “There’s a lot of cash on the sidelines, and the pace of corporate buybacks and IPO supply is creating an unusual supply and demand dynamic.”

He noted that most of the "Big Seven" companies have seen strong earnings growth, with the exception of Tesla (TSLA), which has performed well despite high valuations. Meanwhile, in fixed income, current yield levels offer excellent opportunities: "You can build a portfolio that yields 6.5% to 7%, which is pretty good."

For investors concerned about risk, Reed suggested hedging their portfolios through low-cost tools, noting that current stock market volatility is "ridiculously low."

Economic and policy expectations

Reid remained optimistic about the outlook for the U.S. economy, arguing that despite some recent signs of weakness in the labor market, he believed this could provide room for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates "faster and more aggressively." While tariffs have pushed inflation up slightly, he still expects room to cut the policy rate by 100 basis points, emphasizing that the pass-through effect of interest rates on inflation has weakened.

He added that while there are pressures in the labor market, "something special" is happening in the productivity sector. Wapner commented that such views are obviously something the White House would be happy to listen to: "If they were listening to you right now, they would probably nod and say, 'Yes, yes, that's the story we've been trying to tell.'"