Trump to Meet With Yellen Thursday to Discuss Fed Chief Renomination -- Update

President Donald Trump plans to meet Thursday with Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen to discuss the possibility of nominating her for a second term as central-bank chief, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Ms. Yellen's four-year term as chairwoman expires in early February. She is one of several people under consideration for the Fed job, along with former Fed governor Kevin Warsh, current governor Jerome Powell, Stanford University economist John Taylor and National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn.

Mr. Trump met with Mr. Taylor on Wednesday, and interviewed Messrs. Warsh and Powell late last month.

Politico reported earlier that Mr. Trump would meet with Ms. Yellen this week to discuss the matter.

Ms. Yellen, who took the helm of the central bank in 2014, has remained in the running for another term as chairwoman while White House aides searched for possible successors, some of whom have openly criticized Fed policy during her tenure.

Mr. Trump told The Wall Street Journal in July he was considering renominating Ms. Yellen after her current term as chairwoman expires. She met with White House adviser Ivanka Trump, the president's daughter, in July and had a 15-minute meeting with Mr. Trump in February.

"I think she's done a good job," Mr. Trump said in the July interview. "I'd like to see rates stay low. She's historically been a low-interest-rate person."

Ms. Yellen has led the Fed's campaign to unwind the easy-money policies it pursued in the wake of the financial crisis, including three rounds of bond-buying and an extended period of near-zero interest rates aimed at stimulating the economy. She oversaw the Fed's first interest-rate increase in nearly a decade in December 2015.

The Fed this month began shrinking its $4.5 trillion bond portfolio, and officials have signaled they may raise their benchmark federal-funds rate again this year from the current range of 1% to 1.25%.

She has defended the Fed against criticism on Capitol Hill, largely from Republicans, that the central bank was too slow to raise rates after the financial crisis and should be subject to greater congressional oversight.

The president's pick is subject to Senate confirmation, a process Ms. Yellen went through most recently when she was confirmed as Fed chairwoman. Though her potential nomination could face resistance from some Senate Republicans, she likely would win widespread support from Democrats, who have backed the Fed's plan for gradual rate increases.

Write to Peter Nicholas at peter.nicholas@wsj.com and Kate Davidson at kate.davidson@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 16, 2017 16:01 ET (20:01 GMT)