The shadow Fed's substitute, Hassett, has already begun the first substantive move.
He explicitly stated that the Fed should cut interest rates by 25 basis points at next week's meeting. This action, chosen during the Fed officials' enforced silence period, is no coincidence; rather, it is a precise power grab—taking advantage of the fact that the legitimate chairman cannot speak, he openly addresses the market in a manner that directly benefits his own position. Based on the market's heightened sensitivity and immediate pricing in response to Hassett's remarks, Wall Street has already cast its vote with its feet, effectively acknowledging him as the next chairman of the Federal Reserve.
Trump's seemingly wavering attitude over the past couple of days is, in fact, a high-level exercise in expectation management. He is not hesitating; he is executing a tightly controlled process: warm-up—announcement—shadow control—officially taking office.
The current phase of shadow control is the most critical, as it has set up a perfect deadlock for Powell: if rates are cut next week, it would, to some extent, signify yielding to the shadow chairman's will, with Hassett establishing his authority in advance, and Trump taking control of the Federal Reserve's power early; if rates are not cut, any future economic fluctuations will become ammunition for Trump's team to attack Powell.
This entire set of strategies aims to gradually desensitize the market and adapt to the new power logic (shifting from reliance on data to reliance on politics), making the right gestures to ensure his control, thereby clearing all obstacles and ultimately ensuring that a candidate aligned with his intentions is smoothly pushed onto the throne of the Federal Reserve chairmanship. $BTC #美联储重启降息步伐
