(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump asked Senate Republicans for a show of hands in support of potential nominees for chairman of the Federal Reserve as he took part in a lunch meeting Tuesday with the fractious caucus, two lawmakers said.
Texas Republican Senator John Cornyn the chamber’s No. 2 GOP lawmaker, declined to say which names Trump ticked off or who drew the most raised hands. But Senator Tim Scott said Trump asked specifically about Stanford University economist John Taylor and Federal Reserve Governor Jerome Powell. He also mentioned the current Fed chair, Janet Yellen.
Trump “didn’t announce a winner, but I think Taylor won,” Scott of South Carolina said.
Trump told reporters on Monday he was “very, very close” to announcing his nominee to serve as the next Fed chair. Yellen’s current four-year term ends in February. The White House has said he’ll make a decision before he leaves for a trip to Asia on Nov. 3.
The president has said he’s working off a short list of candidates for the top job at the central bank. It is said to include Yellen, Taylor, Powell, Gary Cohn, director of the White House National Economic Council, and former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh.