Photo : Win McNamee ( Getty )

President Donald Trump is reportedly preparing to name former Godfather’s Pizza CEO Herman Cain as the next member of the Federal Reserve Board, according to multiple administration officials who spoke with Axios on Thursday.


Later, Bloomberg reporter Jennifer Jacobs reported that Trump would announce the pick “soon”:


Cain, a onetime 2012 Republican presidential hopeful whose candidacy ended in scandal after it was reported that three women had accused him of sexual misconduct during his time as head of the National Restaurant Association, had reportedly been on Trump’s shortlist for the Fed since January. But, per Axios’ sources, Trump is now simply waiting for Cain’s background check to finish—and we all know how important a clean background check is for the Trump administration. Cain has since admitted that he had, in fact, settled at least one sexual harassment claim.

“[Trump] won’t formally announce until the vet is completed,” one official told the site. “But he likes Cain and wants to put him on there.”

Cain, whose chief contribution to the 2012 race was repeating the number nine over and over again, has previously said he’d be honored to be named to the country’s central bank, although a White House official told the Wall Street Journal in February that Cain’s consideration was “not serious.”

It’s unclear what might have bumped Cain’s likely nomination into “serious” territory, but Trump has repeatedly railed against the Fed, saying on Thursday that its actions have been “unnecessary and destructive.”


Trump also recently nominated former Club for Growth head Stephen Moore to a spot on the same board. Moore reportedly owes tens of thousands of dollars to the IRS for back taxes.


A flavorless pizza man and an alleged tax cheat? Our banking system is in great hands.

Update, 4:52 p.m. ET: On Thursday afternoon, Trump confirmed he would be nominating Cain to the Fed.