White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett is emerging as a serious contender to be the next chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing people familiar with the matter.

Hassett met with President Donald Trump about the Fed job at least twice in June, the Tuesday report said.

Trump has previously said he has three or four people in mind as contenders for the top Fed job. Those reportedly include former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh, Hassett, current Fed Governor Christopher Waller, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

Trump has repeatedly criticized current Fed Chair Jerome Powell for not cutting interest rates and has floated the idea of naming a successor soon.

Powell is due to leave office in May 2026.

Hassett, 63, is a Ph.D. economist who first began working at the Fed in the 1990s. After serving twice in the Trump administration, Hassett stayed in Trump's circle by joining Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner’s private equity start-up Affinity Partners in 2021 as Global Director of Research.

Hassett, one of Trump’s closest economic advisers, previously said it was his job to “remind people to respect the independence of the Fed.”

Recently, however, Hassett has changed his tune.

After eight years os working for Trump, the WSJ claims Hassett has learned “to adopt the president’s instincts” and has “recently become one of Powell’s harshest critics, accusing the central bank of making decisions based on partisanship rather than economic data.”

In a recent television interview that occurred around the time of his meetings with Trump, Hassett said, “Jay Powell is the person who cut rates right ahead of the election to help Kamala Harris (and is) doing whatever it is that Elizabeth Warren wants.”

Reminiscent of Trump’s days as The Boss of NBC’s “The Apprentice,” there is another Kevin in the wings for the Federal Reserve chairman job.

Kevin Warsh, former Fed governor, has reportedly been angling for the position ever since Trump passed him over in favor of Powell eight years ago.

The 55-year-old is married to the daughter of Trump’s University of Pennsylvania classmate, billionaire Ronald Lauder, and travels in elite circles. Warsh is also said to be more telegenic than Hassett.

The bookish Warsh holds several higher education degrees, including a J.D., cum laude, from Harvard Law School. He played a pivotal role in forming the liquidity bailouts during the mortgage banking crisis of 2008 and served as Fed’s liaison to Wall Street and a representative to the G‑20.

President Trump — in his denouncements of Powell, his repeated calls for him to immediately resign, and his acerbic responses to reporters’ questions about replacing Powell — is stoking Fed drama.

One possibility that Trump advisers are considering is to appoint Hassett to a Fed board seat that will become vacant in February, according to people familiar with the matter.

That would bring Hassett a hair's breath closer to the coveted chairmanship role.

With reporting by Newsmax Money.