In Washington and on Wall Street, the biggest question as we head into 2026 is whom President Donald Trump will choose to succeed Jerome H. Powell as the chair of the Federal Reserve. Far more is at stake than the usual scramble for power and prestige. Trump has been clear that he wants the Fed to be another tool in the White House’s arsenal, or, as he said on Truth Social in November, the Fed “must lower the RATE, BIG, right now.” In his choice, the world will see a signal that the Fed’s much vaunted and much discussed independence — the idea that it is staffed by credentialed experts who follow only the data and ... (full story)