National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, one of the finalists for the Federal Reserve chair job, showed support Tuesday for central bank independence. With President Donald Trump apparently in the final days of picking a successor to Jerome Powell at the Fed, Hassett declined in a CNBC interview to directly address his own candidacy but said forging consensus is an important part of the job. “The Federal Reserve’s independence is really, really important, and the voices of the other people at the [Federal Open Market Committee], they’re important, too,” he said. “So the way you’ve got to drive interest rate ... (full story)