The nomination of the 55-year-old, who served as a governor of the Federal Reserve Board from 2006 to 2011, aligns with Trump’s efforts to control the monetary policymaking institution as economic issues – from tariffs to affordability – dominate the policy agenda ahead of the November midterm elections.

The nomination remains subject to US Senate confirmation.

Trump has accused Powell of being “too late” in reducing interest rates. He has long said that his pick would consult him on monetary policy and “[believe] in lower interest rates, by a lot”.

Such statements raised the eyebrows of economists and Wall Street bankers, given the tradition of central bank independence and the Fed’s commitment to its inflation control target of 2 per cent.

The US consumer price index rose to a four-decade high of more than 7 per cent in the summer of 2022 as a result of unprecedented monetary loosening to shore up the pandemic-hit economy.