Washington — Director of the National Economic Council Kevin Hassett, who President Trump has said is on his shortlist to become the next chair of the Federal Reserve, said Sunday that the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy “needs to be fully independent of political influence — including from President Trump.”
“The fact is that we’ve looked at countries that have allowed the leaders to take over the central banks, and what tends to happen is that it’s a recipe for inflation and misery for consumers,” Hassett said on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.”
The comments came after Mr. Trump said Friday that Hassett is among three candidates he’s considering to replace Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, whose term is up in 2026. Powell, has faced intense pressure from the president to cut interest rates, spurring questions about the White House’s influence at the central bank.
Hassett said central bank independence is something “Democrats and Republicans in the White House all agree about.”
“Now the question is, has the current central bank been as independent as we would like, as transparent as we would like, and I think that there’s some dispute about that,” Hasset added.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called for changes to the Federal Reserve and a widespread review of the institution in a Wall Street Journal op-ed on Friday, writing that “mission creep and institutional bloat threaten the central bank’s independence.” Hassett said on Sunday that he agrees with Bessent’s piece, but he wouldn’t commit to implementing his ideas should he become the next Fed chair.
“I agree with his vision, but I look forward to the president deciding who’s going to be the Federal Reserve Chair, and I think that he and Secretary Bessent will do that ably,” Hassett said. “There are a lot of great candidates.”
Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller and former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh are also on Mr. Trump’s shortlist.
Mr. Trump’s attempt to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook from the central bank, as well as selecting a top economic aide as a replacement for another post on the board of governors, have sparked questions around independence at the Federal Reserve in recent weeks, raising concerns among Wall Street analysts that the White House is trying to wrest control of the historically independent central bank.
Stephen Miran, Mr. Trump’s pick to join a vacated seat on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, testified on Capitol Hill last week and sparked criticism from Democrats after he suggested he wouldn’t immediately resign from his White House role if he was confirmed.
Miran, who currently chairs the White House’s Council of Economic Advisers, acknowledged at the hearing that Mr. Trump selected him “because I have policy views that I suppose that he liked.” But he pledged that if confirmed, he would “act independently.”
“I couldn’t be more in agreement that independence of the central bank is of paramount importance for the economy, for financial markets, for the long-run stewardship of the country,” Miran said.
CBS News polling released Sunday found that 68% of Americans want the Federal Reserve to make decisions independently from Mr. Trump. But 59% of Republicans say the Fed should be guided by what the president wants.
The developments come as U.S. employers added 22,000 jobs in August, according to the August jobs report released Friday, falling short of economists’ expectations. Hiring was lower-than-expected in July as well, a pattern that complicates the Federal Reserve’s next rate cut decision, set for Sept. 17.
