Economist Marc Sumerlin, one of nearly a dozen reported contenders for Federal Reserve chair, confirmed Thursday that he is interested in the position and argued that an aggressive interest rate cut would be appropriate.
“We could easily do a 50 basis point cut … without disrupting anything at all. So it seems like pretty much a no-brainer to me,” Sumerlin said on CNBC. He emphasized the importance of Fed independence, which has been questioned amid ongoing political scrutiny.
Sumerlin, a former senior economist under President George W. Bush, said current economic conditions—including the yield structure, weakness in the labor market, and stable inflation—make a half-percentage-point cut feasible without adverse effects. A basis point equals 0.01%, meaning a 50-basis-point reduction equals 0.5%.
With the field wide open to succeed current Chair Jerome Powell, Sumerlin’s stance aligns directionally with President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly urged the Fed to ease policy, advocating cuts of up to 3 percentage points. The Powell-led Federal Open Market Committee has held the benchmark funds rate steady since its last reduction in December 2024.
Currently managing partner at Evenflow Macro, Sumerlin confirmed he was contacted by the White House last week regarding the selection process. He is close friends with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who has played a leading role in the search, noting the two have discussed monetary policy “weekly for probably 12 years.”
“I got a call last Wednesday that said there was going to be a list [and] I was going to be on it. That’s as much as I know right now,” Sumerlin said. “I’m waiting for more guidance on where we go from here.”
Sumerlin stressed that he would only pursue the nomination if certain conditions are met. “If it’s the Fed chair, it’s mission critical to the world. You have to be willing to do that,” he said. “I’ve never met the president before. It would depend on us seeing eye to eye.”
He reiterated the need for Fed independence, particularly given Trump’s unprecedented public criticism of Powell and the FOMC, whom the president has labeled “loser” and “stupid.”
“You have to go into it knowing that every day you’re going to walk in and just do the best job you can for the American people, and you’re going to get criticism and be prepared to deal with that,” Sumerlin said. “Ideally, you’d want to go in knowing that you’re in synch. In synch goes both ways, and that would be part of the process trying to figure it out.”
Other reported candidates for the Fed chair include Governors Michelle Bowman and Christopher Waller, National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, and former Governor Kevin Warsh, among roughly half a dozen additional contenders.
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