President Donald Trump plans to nominate Federal Reserve Governor Jerome Powell to the top job at the U.S. central bank, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing a person familiar with the matter.
Trump, who has said he'd announce his pick Thursday, would be choosing a former private-equity executive who favors continuing gradual interest-rate increases and sympathizes with White House calls to ease financial regulations.
The president spoke with Powell on Tuesday, the Journal said, citing another person familiar with the matter. A Fed spokeswoman was not immediately available for comment.
If approved by the Senate, the 64-year-old former Carlyle Group LP managing director and ex-Treasury undersecretary would succeed Fed Chair Janet Yellen, who has raised borrowing costs four times starting in late 2015 and just begun scaling back the central bank's $4.5 trillion balance sheet.
