Trump claims Bostic does not wish to be nominated as Federal Reserve Chairman, reiterates that employment data is "manipulated"

According to the Zhitong Finance APP, U.S. President Donald Trump stated on Tuesday that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told him he did not wish to be nominated to replace Jerome Powell as the next Federal Reserve Chairman. Trump said in an interview, "I just asked him last night, is this a position you want? Mnuchin's answer was, 'No, I want to stay in my current position.' He is doing a great job, he wants to continue doing his current work, so I ruled him out. He doesn't want this position. He likes being Treasury Secretary. He is really doing well."

Trump mentioned that he is considering four candidates, including former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh and National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, but he also reminded that he does not plan to make a decision soon. Trump added, "I think it's safe to say both 'Kevins' are good, and there are other very good candidates as well."

It is worth noting that Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman, whose term was originally set to end on January 31, 2026, unexpectedly announced her early resignation last Friday, making it a focal point for the market as to who will fill her vacancy on the board. The reason is that Bowman's successor is very likely to become the next Federal Reserve Chairman, and her early departure provides Trump with a good opportunity to quickly arrange a "shadow chairman" into the Federal Reserve Board.

Trump has repeatedly pressured the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates and criticized Powell on social media. Trump has accused the Federal Reserve and Powell of being too slow to cut rates and misjudging inflation. He believes that the Federal Reserve's current practice of maintaining interest rates has made the federal government's debt service costs too high, suppressing economic growth.

Although Powell did not release a clear signal for a rate cut in September during last week's Federal Reserve meeting, market expectations for a rate cut surged after the release of the U.S. non-farm payroll data for July last Friday. The data showed that the U.S. added only 73,000 non-farm jobs in July, far below market expectations, and the non-farm job additions for May and June were both significantly revised down.

This latest employment data has sent signals of a weakening U.S. economy. As a result, the interest rate futures market has priced in about 64 basis points of rate cuts for the remainder of 2025—meaning rate cut expectations are converging towards a 75 basis point cut within the year, with the probability of a rate cut in September raised to 90%.

Additionally, after the release of the U.S. non-farm payroll data for July last Friday, Trump announced the firing of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Erica McEntyre, accusing her of "manipulating employment data for political purposes." Trump's decision shocked Wall Street and raised concerns about whether his actions would affect the integrity of the Bureau of Labor Statistics data, which is crucial for global investors. William Beach, who served as the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics during Trump's first presidential term, called Trump's firing of McEntyre "unfounded" and stated that it sets a "dangerous precedent."

Despite the interview host pointing out that former government officials say the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics does not participate in data details and that data revisions are standard procedures, Trump reiterated on Tuesday his claim that "the data is being manipulated." Trump asserted, "This is purely a political operation. It is being manipulated, and smart people know it; common-sense people understand it." Hassett defended Trump's decision to fire McIntosh, stating that the data correction process requires clearer explanations, and suggested that the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics should "adopt a new perspective" to make its labor data collection process more transparent and modernized. Trump, on the other hand, stated that the process is "too outdated and highly politicized."