Kevin Hassett says the new Fed chairman must be “an independent person” who respects mandates

White House adviser Kevin Hassett, one of the candidates in the race to replace Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, told CNBC in an interview Thursday that the new central bank chairman “must be an independent person who respects the mandates.”Hassett said the Fed needed someone like former Chairman Alan Greenspan, who “got the economy going without causing inflation because he recognized why the economy was so hot,” echoing similar comments from US President Donald Trump earlier this week.

Hassett told CNBC that the U.S. could see growth of more than 5% for two consecutive quarters.

“But inflation is not increasing. And so that’s clear, because productivity is happening right now, because of AI and the data centers, yes, and so it looks very much like the 1990s to me right now. And so I think the Greenspan ruling would be appropriate now,” he added.

Trump indicated on Wednesday that he was about to choose a new Fed chairman. He said he thought it was a good idea to keep Hassett in his current post, while adding that BlackRock’s chief bond investment manager, Rick Rieder, had been “very impressive” in his interview.

Hassett also praised Rieder in the CNBC interview, saying, “I’ve been friends with Rick for a long time. He’s the best ally.”