Christopher Waller, governor of the US Federal Reserve, speaks during the C. Peter McColough Series on International Economics at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, US, on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025. (Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller on Wednesday said he sees fit to cut interest rates further next year.
Yet Fed policymakers can still take their time, he added.
“Because inflation is still up, we can take our time, there’s no rush to get down,” Waller said in a CNBC forum. “We just can steadily, kind of bring the policy rate down towards neutral.”
It comes a week after the Fed reduced borrowing costs, the third time it's done so this year in an economy grappling with stubborn inflation and a weakening job market. After the central bank's two-day meeting ended, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said committee members would be adopting a "wait and see" approach to determine whether more interest rate reductions were necessary.
Waller's comments are notable because he is on President Donald Trump's shortlist to be the next Fed chair once Powell's term is up in May 2026. Other finalists include Kevin Warsh, a former Federal Reserve governor, and Kevin Hassett, the White House National Economic Council director.
Waller is scheduled to meet with Trump about the Fed's top job later on Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal reported. He was appointed to the Fed Board of Governors and confirmed by the Senate in December 2020, the tail-end of Trump's first term.
The president expressed his desire for lower interest rates almost non-stop for the last several months. "I'm looking for somebody that will be honest with interest rates," Trump said last week during a White House event. "Our rates should be much lower. Our rates should be the lowest in the world."
Compared to the other two finalists, Waller is viewed as an underdog for the job since he doesn't share a personal rapport with Trump. Still, he is favorably viewed by investors and chief executives.
On Wednesday morning, Yale professor Jeffrey Sonnenfeld polled a room of CEOs on their preferred pick for Fed chair, the Wall Street Journal's Nick Timiraos reported. Waller drew 80% support among those in attendance.
