President Donald Trump stated aboard Air Force One just before arriving in Pennsylvania on December 9 that he has a "pretty good idea" of his preferred Federal Reserve chair candidate amid final interviews to replace Jay Powell, according to Financial Times reporting shared by Hugh Lowenkron on X over the past 59 minutes ending at 11:45 p.m. UTC. The Financial Times reported Trump will soon launch final interviews pitting White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett against a trio of other candidates. Trump told reporters: "We're going to be looking at a couple different people but I have a pretty good idea of who I want." At Trump's Pennsylvania rally during the same period, Treasury secretary nominee Scott Bessent rallied supporters, stating the bond market had its best year since 2020 and pledging as "nation's top bond salesman" to ensure another strong year in 2026 while fighting to lower Treasury borrowing costs, per Aaron Rupar on X. Federal judge Emil Bove attended the rally, telling MSNBC he was there "just as a citizen coming to watch the president speak," according to Vaughn Hillyard on X. Separately, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro described AI development as a national security issue requiring U.S. leadership over China, a stance criticized as echoing Biden-era framing by Nick Field on X, citing a Semafor interview. Virginia Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger sat for a live Politico interview during the window to discuss her plans and federal government relations, per Politico on X.
