“Bessent is trying to show Trump there is a path to get what he wants without unnecessary market turmoil,” said Stephen Myrow, managing partner at Beacon Policy Advisors. That path would involve allowing Powell to finish out his term as chair and stepping down from the Federal Reserve board once his chairmanship is up.

U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is a "numbskull" who has kept interest rates too high, but he will be out in eight months, President Donald Trump said at a news conference on Tuesday.