Yellen mum on whether she’ll lead the Fed again

Federal Reserve Board Chairwoman Janet Yellen on Wednesday declined to say whether she expected to be leading the central bank after her first term ends in February 2018.

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Yellen said that she hadn’t spoken recently with President Trump and wouldn’t say whether she’d like to return to lead the Fed, or if he’d reappoint her as chairwoman.

“I have said that I intended to serve out my term as chair and I’m really not going to comment … beyond there,” Yellen said during a Wednesday news conference.

Trump is currently mulling who, if anyone, should replace Yellen in February. He has offered mild praise of Yellen after calling her “obviously political” during the 2016 campaign, insisting she held down interest rates under President Obama to make the economy look stronger than it actually was.

Trump has praised Yellen’s work leading the Fed since he took office and said he was considering asking her to serve as chairwoman again. Yellen could still serve on the Fed board as a governor until 2024 if Trump doesn’t renominate her, but it’s rare for a former chairperson to stay.

It’s unclear who Trump would pick to replace Yellen. Gary Cohn, White House National Economic Council director, was rumored to be Trump’s top choice to lead the Fed, but fell out of the president’s favor after criticizing his defense of white nationalist marchers in Charlottesville, Va.