WASHINGTON—As markets await President Donald Trump’s announcement naming the next Federal Reserve chairman, the president has shared more details about his top candidates and what he is looking for in the person who will lead the world’s most powerful central bank.

During an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Trump said he was leaning toward either former Fed board member Kevin Warsh or National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett to lead the Fed.

The president said Warsh was at the top of his list.

However, he did not rule out Hassett, saying: “I think you have Kevin and Kevin. They’re both—I think the two Kevins are great.”

“I think there are a couple of other people that are great,” the president said.

Trump also told the outlet that the next Fed chair should consult with him on interest rates.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had previously stated that the administration had narrowed its search to five candidates to replace Fed Chair Jerome Powell, who will step down as U.S. central bank chief in May.

The final five included Hassett, Warsh, BlackRock executive Rick Rieder, and Fed board members Michelle Bowman and Christopher Waller.

Recently, prediction markets have been giving Hassett higher odds of winning the job.

Trump had previously expressed a preference for Bessent to lead the Federal Reserve. However, Bessent stated that he preferred to work at the helm of the Treasury Department.

Trump has criticized Powell for not lowering interest rates sooner.

“I’d love to get the guy currently in there out right now, but people are holding me back,” the president said last month. “He’s done a terrible job.”

Trump met with Warsh on Dec. 10 for 45 minutes and confirmed that he pressed Warsh on his commitment to cut interest rates.

“He thinks you have to lower interest rates,” Trump said of Warsh during the interview with the Journal. “And so does everybody else that I’ve talked to.”

Trump acknowledged that the Fed chair should not follow the president’s orders.

But he also said, “I’m a smart voice and should be listened to.”

The administration has repeatedly criticized Powell and his colleagues for not cutting interest rates earlier this year. Stephen Miran, a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, has also suggested that the institution needs to lower rates much more quickly than monetary policymakers have been doing over the past couple of meetings.

In September, the Fed restarted its easing cycle, following through on a quarter-point rate cut. Officials approved another 25 basis-point reduction at the December meeting of the policy-making Federal Open Market Committee, lowering the federal funds rate to a range of 3.5–3.75 percent.

This is the first time, however, since September 2019 that three Fed officials dissented.

As in previous meetings, Miran voted to lower the policy rate by half a point. Meanwhile, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Austan Goolsbee and Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey Schmid supported no rate change.

Andrew Moran contributed to this report.