President Trump is expected to nominate Jerome Powell as the next chair of the Federal Reserve, according to two people familiar with the president’s decision who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The White House intends to announce the Fed chair selection on Thursday.

Jerome Powell, a member of the board of governors of the Federal Reserve, shown in 2014, is President Trump's top candidate to lead the Federal Reserve, a senior administration official said Monday. Associated Press/John Locher

If confirmed by the Senate, Powell would begin serving as chair in February, replacing Janet Yellen, a Democrat, who Trump has at times praised but many Republicans wanted replaced.

Powell, a Republican, is widely viewed as a safe pick who is unlikely to make any dramatic changes to Fed’s handling of the economy at a time when the stock market is soaring and unemployment is at a 16-year low.

Powell has served as a Fed governor, a top leadership role within the central bank, since 2012. He also has experience in Washington and on Wall Street, having served as undersecretary of the Treasury Department for former President George H.W. Bush and as a partner at The Carlyle Group, a venture capital firm.

Powell was originally nominated to the Fed board by former President Obama. Former colleagues of Powell’s at the Fed describe him as right-leaning but not an ideologue.

He worked for the Bipartisan Policy Center for several years after leaving The Carlyle Group and has developed a reputation as a consensus builder. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin pushed hard for Powell to win Trump’s nod for the position after working with Powell recently on changes to bank regulations.

“Next to the Supreme Court, this is the second-most important decision Trump will make. It will outlast him as president,” says Richard Fischer, former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.

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