(Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump plans to nominate former pizza chain executive and Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain for a seat on the Federal Reserve Board, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday.
Axios also earlier reported Trump has decided to choose Cain to fill one of two vacancies on the seven-member Fed board.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the reports.
Board members have a vote on setting interest rates every time U.S. central bankers meet, making them among America's most powerful officials for economic policy. Trump is also considering nominating conservative commentator and longtime ally Stephen Moore to the Fed.
Trump has been a vocal and strident critic of Fed Chair Jerome Powell, who Trump picked two years ago for that post and whose interest rate hikes Trump has called a mistake that has hurt the economy. The Fed has since put its rate hikes on hold, citing a slowdown in growth as well as global and other risks.