Who will be the next chair of the Federal Reserve? Two Republican candidates, both named Kevin, are emerging as frontrunners in the race to lead the world’s most influential central bank.

According to The Wall Street Journal, former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh and National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett are the two leading contenders under consideration by former President Donald Trump. While current Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is also reportedly on the shortlist, the likelihood of him serving simultaneously as Treasury Secretary and Fed Chair appears slim.

“The President has made it clear that the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy must align with the administration’s pro-growth agenda,” said White House spokesperson Kush Desai. Trump expects that whoever wins the Fed chair position will support interest rate cuts.

At 63, Hassett is an academically minded economist with a Ph.D. and previous experience at the Fed in the 1990s. He has been part of Trump’s inner circle for the past eight years. After serving in Trump’s first administration, Hassett joined Jared Kushner’s private equity firm.

In September 2022, Hassett publicly defended the Fed's independence and supported Jerome Powell’s aggressive rate hikes, warning that attacking Powell could harm both markets and the economy.

But three years later, perhaps in a bid to regain Trump's favor, Hassett’s stance has shifted sharply. He has become one of Powell’s harshest critics, accusing the Fed of making decisions based on partisanship rather than economic data and alleging close cooperation with Democrats.

“Powell is the guy who will cut rates just before the election to help Kamala Harris,” Hassett said.

The other contender, Kevin Warsh, is the son-in-law of billionaire Ronald Lauder, a college classmate of Trump’s. For over a decade, Warsh has moved within elite financial circles—something Trump both admires and resents.

In recent weeks, Warsh has been working to soften his long-held reputation for favoring tighter monetary policy. In a recent interview, he hinted that if the Fed worked in tandem with Treasury Secretary Bessent to reduce the Fed’s $6.2 trillion balance sheet of Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities, there would be room for larger rate cuts.

Warsh met with Trump last fall, initially to pitch himself for the Treasury Secretary role, but he used the opportunity to make the case for the Fed Chair position instead. He previously served as an advisor to President George W. Bush and has been a vocal advocate of free trade over the past decade.

One advantage Warsh may hold over Hassett is his more polished television presence—something that could matter to the image-conscious Trump. Warsh is also an old friend of Bessent, whose influence over Trump has been significant, including persuading Trump to postpone the controversial reciprocal tariff plan.

According to people familiar with the discussions, some of Trump’s advisors have floated the idea of nominating Hassett to fill the upcoming vacancy on the Federal Reserve Board in February 2025. That way, Trump could later choose which “Kevin” to elevate to Fed Chair once Powell’s term expires.