TOKYO (Reuters) -U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the new Federal Reserve chair should be someone "who can examine the whole organization" as the Fed's mission has included so many things outside of monetary policy and has put its independence at risk, Japan's Nikkei newspaper reported.

"It's someone who has to have the confidence of the markets, the ability to analyze complex economic data," Bessent told the Nikkei in an interview, when asked about the qualities the new Fed chair should possess.

"And it's also someone who wants to be, I think, very attuned to forward thinking, as opposed to relying on historical data," Bessent was quoted as saying in the interview, which was conducted in Washington on August 7 and published on Monday.

A source has told Reuters that Bessent is leading a search for a successor to Fed Chair Jerome Powell, with an expanded list that includes a longtime economic consultant and a past regional Fed president.