Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller joins ‘Kudlow’ to discuss the latest happenings at the Federal Reserve.
Governor and Federal Reserve Chairman Christopher Waller joined ‘Kudlow’ to undermine Chairman Jerome Powell’s claim that the agency is driving through a ‘fog’.
Powell said Wednesday that the lack of key economic data caused by the government shutdown has given the Federal Reserve an unclear view of the economy.
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U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell speaks during a press conference at the end of a Monetary Policy Committee meeting in Washington on October 29, 2025. (Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images/Getty Images)
“What do you do when you’re driving in the fog? You slow down,” Powell said at a meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee.
Waller is one of five on the list of candidates to replace Powell. Contenders include Michelle Bowman, Kevin Hassett, Rick Rieder and Kevin Warsh.
Waller said he is willing to take the position if elected.
“If the president asks me to, I will serve,” Waller said. “He asked me once before, and I said yes. I’ll say yes again.’
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The economist has served on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors since 2020, after being nominated by President Donald Trump.
Waller emphasized that the Federal Reserve has sufficient data, and argued that halting decision-making is unnecessary.
Christopher Waller, Governor of the U.S. Federal Reserve, during the Federal Reserve’s Payments Innovation Conference in Washington, DC, October 21, 2025. (Aaron Schwartz/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)
“We actually have a lot of data just because the official government data hasn’t come out. We have a lot of data,” he said.
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The governor also argued that the tariffs have a “small” effect on the economy, and that inflation is not a problem.
The Marriner S. Eccles Federal Reserve Building in Washington, DC, June 25, 2024. (Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)
“We expect it to come down,” Waller said. “All our forecasts assume that inflation will return to target levels. So yes, it is high, and it has been high, but it will come back full force.”
Waller identified the job market as his biggest concern and made predictions about the artificial intelligence revolution, claiming that things could be different in a year or two. He said he is a “big optimist” about AI.
“It’s still not quite there. We’re not seeing it in productivity yet. But in 12 months, 24 months, I think you’re going to see some big changes,” he said.
