U.S. President Donald Trump's search for the next chair of the Federal Reserve has come down to Fed governor Jerome Powell and Stanford University economist John Taylor, according to two U.S. media reports.
Powell and Taylor are the front-runners to lead the U.S. central bank when current Fed Chair Janet Yellen's term expires in February, the Washington Post and Politico separately reported on Thursday.
Several people cited by the Washington Post also said that a final decision has not yet been made, as Trump is well-known for changing his mind on nominations late in the process.
Trump has recently finished interviews of five candidates for the post, including Yellen, Powell, Taylor, former Fed governor Kevin Warsh and White House National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn.
Trump said on Monday that he is "very, very close" to making a decision on who is going to lead the central bank.
During a closed-door lunch meeting with Republican senators on Tuesday, Trump asked them to pick between Powell and Taylor for the next Fed chair with a show of hands.
While Powell and Taylor are both Republicans, they would have much different approaches to running monetary policy at the central bank.
Powell is likely to continue Yellen's gradual and cautious approach to tightening monetary policy, while Taylor, who has advocated for a stricter policy rule, is considered more hawkish on raising interest rates.
In an interview with Fox Business Network on Sunday, Trump said he could consider nominating both Powell and Taylor for the Fed's top two jobs, as there's a vacancy for the Fed's vice chair.
Trump is expected to announce his decision on the Fed chair before leaving for a trip to Asia on Nov. 3.
