Shadow Fed Chairman Hassett has already begun his first substantial move.

He has explicitly called for the Federal Reserve to cut rates by 25 basis points at next week's meeting. The timing of this move, chosen during the Fed officials' mandated quiet period, is no coincidence—it is a precise power grab. While the official chairman is unable to speak, Hassett has taken the opportunity to make a public statement to the market that benefits his own standing. Judging by the market's high sensitivity to Hassett's remarks and their immediate pricing in, Wall Street has voted with its feet and, in effect, acknowledged him as the next Fed Chairman.

Trump's seemingly wavering attitude in recent days is, in fact, a highly sophisticated form of expectation management. He is not hesitating, but rather executing a tightly controlled process: warm-up—announcement—shadow control—formal appointment.

The current shadow control stage is the most critical. It sets up a perfect trap for Powell: if there is a rate cut next week, it would, to some extent, be seen as yielding to the will of the shadow chairman—Hassett establishes his authority in advance, and Trump preemptively seizes control of the Fed. If there is no rate cut, any future economic volatility will become ammunition for Trump’s team to attack Powell.

This entire strategy is designed to gradually desensitize the market and acclimate it to a new power dynamic (shifting from data dependence to political dependence), making a full display of posture, ensuring control, sweeping away all obstacles, and ultimately paving the way for their preferred candidate to take the Fed Chairman’s seat.