<\/p>\n The Fed this month cut rates for the first time since December, lowering the benchmark federal funds target range by a quarter point to 4-4.25 per cent. <\/p>\n Trump\u2019s latest pick for the Fed board, Stephen Miran<\/a>, was the sole dissenter, backing a 50 basis point cut \u2014 and calling for an additional five quarter point cuts by the end of the year, more than double what any other senior Fed official wants. <\/p>\n Waller did not back Miran\u2019s calls for a bigger half-point, despite being one of two dissenters supporting a quarter-point cut at the previous vote in July.<\/p>\n \u201cWaller looks like a central banker, rather than someone who is prostrating himself for the job of Fed chair,\u201d said Robert Barbera, of Johns Hopkins University. \u201cAnd that\u2019s precisely why he won\u2019t get it.\u201d <\/p>\n None of the respondents to the poll want Miran to become the next chair \u2014 though a fifth view him as the likeliest candidate. <\/p>\n Betting markets, meanwhile, think Waller is the favourite, with Hassett a close second. <\/p>\n Trump has suggested former Fed governor Kevin Warsh, Hassett and Waller are his preferred picks. He views loyalty and a willingness to aggressively cut rates as essential requirements for whoever he chooses. <\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n