Report: Trump appoints Hassett as Director of the National Economic Council

On November 26th, Eastern Time, media reports citing informed sources stated that President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Kevin Hassett to serve as the Director of the National Economic Council, responsible for advancing the new administration's policy agenda on taxes, trade, and spending. Hassett has been a central figure in conservative economic circles for the past two decades, having served as a senior advisor to Trump during his first administration and as the Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, where he vigorously defended the Republican Party's signature tax policies. He also supported a series of tariff plans proposed by the Republican Party. Before Trump's formal announcement of the appointment, Hassett's position was not yet finalized. Trump transition team spokesperson Karoline Leavitt stated in a release: “President-elect Trump has made outstanding decisions with remarkable efficiency, choosing personnel who will serve in his second administration. The remaining decisions will be announced by him as they are finalized.” As the Director of the National Economic Council (NEC), Hassett will work closely with Trump's nominee for Secretary of the Treasury, hedge fund manager Scott Bessent, to implement the White House's economic plans. The National Economic Council (NEC) is often confused with the White House's internal economic think tank—the Council of Economic Advisers—but the NEC is a team that is more directly involved in policy-making. Currently, the position is held by Lael Brainard, who was previously the Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve. The NEC was established by President Bill Clinton in 1993, based on the idea that “the president's most important job is 'the economy, stupid.'” Hassett, 62, frequently provided positive economic analyses supporting Trump's trade policies during his tenure and questioned statistics that undermined the economic record of the Trump administration. His office promoted alternative data that differed from those provided by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), and the Census Bureau. In an interview with the media in October, he stated that the Federal Reserve “let inflation get out of control” and emphasized the importance of having an independent central bank