Hassett: Trump will make a final decision on the Federal Reserve Chair nominee in the next 1-2 weeks, and there is still significant room for interest rate cuts

Local time on Wednesday, 40 minutes before the release of the Federal Reserve's December FOMC decision statement, "shadow Federal Reserve Chairman" and Director of the National Economic Council Kevin Hassett reiterated that the Federal Reserve has significant room to cut interest rates and needs to lower rates further. He believes the Federal Reserve can cut rates by 50 basis points or even more:

The Federal Reserve can definitely cut rates by 50 basis points, or even more.

Hassett stated that the futures market expects the Federal Reserve to cut rates by 25 basis points. A 25 basis point cut at the December meeting would be a small step in the right direction. Hassett pointed out that Federal Reserve Chairman Powell engaged in extensive "negotiations" to achieve a 25 basis point cut.

Hassett's latest statement on interest rate policy is similar to yesterday's. He stated on Tuesday local time that the Federal Reserve has "ample room" to cut rates, which means a reduction exceeding 25 basis points.

As the top contender for the position of Federal Reserve Chairman, Hassett also mentioned that Trump will finalize the Federal Reserve Chairman candidate in the next week or two