By Andrea Shalal
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Trump administration is considering recommending White House economic adviser Pierre Yared for the No. 2 job at the International Monetary Fund, sources familiar with the discussions told Reuters on Monday.
IMF First Deputy Managing Director Gita Gopinath announced in July that she would leave her post at the end of August to return to Harvard University.
IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva has been reviewing the names and qualifications of potential successors for Gopinath and expects to announce a decision before next month’s meetings of the IMF and World Bank in Washington, according to sources familiar with her thinking.
The sources declined to be identified because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
Yared, who is currently the vice chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, holds a PhD in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He taught for years at Columbia University Business School and served as senior vice dean for faculty affairs there until he was tapped for the White House job in February.
Yared was born in Beirut, Lebanon, and raised in Cleveland.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, asked about Yared, said on Monday that Treasury was looking at “three very strong candidates,” adding: “I like Pierre a lot.”
He said Yared could also take over the top spot at CEA, whose current chair Stephen Miran has been nominated to take a temporary job on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors.
Miran, who faces a Senate confirmation hearing on September 4, has also been named as a possible candidate to replace Fed Governor Lisa Cook, whom President Donald Trump fired last week over alleged mortgage fraud. Cook has sued Trump and the Fed, saying Trump lacks the authority to fire her.
The United States, which is the largest shareholder in the IMF, traditionally nominates the deputy managing director, subject to approval by the fund’s executive board.
The European Union traditionally nominates the chief at the IMF, while the U.S. nominates the head of the World Bank.
The portfolio of the deputy role typically includes strategy, policy development and lending programs.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Ross Colvin and Edmund Klamann)
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