Janet Yellen's path toward a second term as Federal Reserve chair has hit some turbulence.
While President Donald Trump said in April that he likes Yellen, Bloomberg's Washington bureau reports today that the idea of her staying beyond February is encountering resistance from some advisors. Short of lifetime Supreme Court picks, there's hardly a juicier nomination than for the Fed chief, and the selection process gives Trump's aides an opportunity to install their own person who will steer the economy for years to come.
One recent strain of Republican thinking says that the Fed has become too independent and unorthodox. Loyalty may be another important factor for Trump's circle. A recent Bloomberg survey showed possible successors include Fed veteran Kevin Warsh, Stanford economics professor John Taylor and Trump adviser Gary Cohn.
True, Yellen is still in the running and Treasury says that the selection process is in the early stages. But any move to dump Yellen would underscore Trump's indifference to Washington tradition -- Reagan, Clinton and Obama all kept on Fed chairs named by predecessors from the other party.
With the Fed prepping for an unprecedented wind down of its balance sheet, the appointment is another wild card for markets.
The article was provided by Bloomberg News.