This week, President Trump could send a powerful and stabilizing signal to financial markets by naming Fed Governor Christopher J. Waller as his nominee for Federal Reserve Chair. Such a move would counter fears of an outsider appointment by selecting an experienced professional with an impeccable resume in monetary economics.
Waller is a Fed insider, having built a distinguished academic career before serving over a decade as the research director at the St. Louis Fed and, since 2020, as a Governor. His entire career points to a policymaker who is rigorously data-driven, famously employing a “no murder mysteries” approach to transparently explain the economic evidence behind his views.
Waller has demonstrated both foresight and fierce independence. He was one of the first Fed officials to call for aggressive rate hikes to fight surging inflation in 2022. More recently, he was one of the first to argue for rate cuts in 2025 as the data showed the economy weakening, a view he backed with a formal dissent. This track record suggests an agile policymaker who is ahead of the consensus. His nomination would place the Fed in the hands of a respected, independent, and data-driven leader whose policy judgment has been consistently sharp, and I think the markets would welcome that positively.
This week, President Trump could send a powerful and stabilizing signal to financial markets by naming Fed Governor Christopher J. Waller as his nominee for Federal Reserve Chair. Such a move would counter fears of an outsider appointment by selecting an experienced professional with an impeccable resume in monetary economics.
Waller is a Fed insider, having built a distinguished academic career before serving over a decade as the research director at the St. Louis Fed and, since 2020, as a Governor. His entire career points to a policymaker who is rigorously data-driven, famously employing a “no murder mysteries” approach to transparently explain the economic evidence behind his views.
Waller has demonstrated both foresight and fierce independence. He was one of the first Fed officials to call for aggressive rate hikes to fight surging inflation in 2022. More recently, he was one of the first to argue for rate cuts in 2025 as the data showed the economy weakening, a view he backed with a formal dissent. This track record suggests an agile policymaker who is ahead of the consensus. His nomination would place the Fed in the hands of a respected, independent, and data-driven leader whose policy judgment has been consistently sharp, and I think the markets would welcome that positively.