Trump to announce Fed chair nominee Friday; Kevin Warsh may be his pick, according to reports

President Donald Trump said Thursday that he will be naming his pick Friday for the new Federal Reserve chair.

Speaking at the premiere for “Melania,” the film about first lady Melania Trump, the president said a process that began last summer of finding his choice to succeed current Chair Jerome Powell is about to end.

“I'll be announcing the Fed chair tomorrow morning,” Trump said. Asked if he had actually settled on a choice, he replied, “I do, I better, otherwise I have to go to work very quickly.”

Former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh is expected to be Trump's pick, according to multiple media reports. If Warsh, 55, is Trump's nominee, it might not ripple markets because of his past Fed experience and Wall Street's view that he wouldn't automatically do Trump's bidding.

“He has the respect and credibility of the financial markets,” said David Bahnsen, chief investment officer of The Bahnsen Group, on CNBC's “Squawk Box.”

“There was no person who was going to get this job who wasn't going to be cutting rates in the short term. However, I believe longer term he will be a credible candidate,” Bahnsen added.

The process for deciding on Powell's replacement began in August with an 11-candidate field that included past and current Fed officials, economists and Wall Street investment professionals. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent screened the qualifying candidates, whittling the list down to five and then four.

The final four was believed to be Warsh, National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, current Fed Governor Christopher Waller and BlackRock chief investment officer for fixed income Rick Rieder.

Prediction markets have been betting on who gets the job. Hassett had been the leader for some time, then Warsh and for the past several days Rieder. However, that flipped Thursday evening, with Kalshi now putting Warsh as the prohibitive favorite.

Trump added that the pick is “somebody that could have been there a few years ago.” Warsh is known to have been in the running back in 2017 when Trump decided to nominate Powell.

An administration source told CNBC that Warsh was at the White House on Thursday. However, a White House official dismissed speculation.

“President Trump will make an announcement about his pick for the Federal Reserve at the appropriate juncture. Any and all reporting on the Federal Reserve Chairman nominations process until then is a waste of everyone's time,” said White House spokesman Kush Desai.

For his part, Powell balked at questions over whether he will stay on after his term as chair expires in May. Powell has the option of serving out the remaining two years on his governor's term.