Money Shouldn't Choose the Next Fed Chair

Sometime in the coming year, President Donald Trump will nominate the next chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve, arguably the most powerful central bank on the planet. Impressed as he may be by Wall Street wealth, it should not be his key criterion.

With the impending resignation of Daniel Tarullo, the Fed official who oversaw financial regulation, Trump will have the opportunity to appoint three people to the central bank's board of governors, subject to confirmation by the Senate. In doing so, he should be prepared to later promote one to chair the board: If he intends to replace current chair Janet Yellen when her term ends in early 2018, and if she decides to remain on the board (as the Fed's rules allow), the three will be the only Trump appointees who can take over.