President-elect Donald Trump is expected to name Kevin Hassett to lead the National Economic Council in his second administration, according to four people with knowledge of the transition.
Hassett, 62, served as chief economist during Trump's first term. Now, he would take on an expanded role as the president’s top adviser on economic matters and play a key part in coordinating policies and strategy across the government.
One of the main orders of business for the new NEC director will be serving as an emissary in negotiating an extension to the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, legislation that Hassett has spent years touting.
His addition to Trump’s team would be a sign that the president-elect is favoring more established names — rather than disrupters — for top roles that will be tasked with enacting a sweeping economic policy agenda that will include high tariffs, major tax legislation and the unwinding of Biden-era regulations.
Wall Street and business leaders have responded favorably to Trump’s selection of hedge fund executive Scott Bessent to serve as Treasury secretary and Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick to lead Commerce — both pending confirmation.
The NEC is part of the executive office of the president, and the director does not need to be confirmed by the Senate.
Transition spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said decisions on who will serve in the administration "will continue to be announced by [Trump] when they are made." The president-elect has been known to change his mind on personnel appointments at the last minute. The people who said Hassett was the expected pick were granted anonymity to discuss a decision that is not yet final.
Hassett could not be reached for comment.
Bloomberg News earlier reported the news.
If ultimately named to the role, Hassett would be one of only a handful of alums to return to the White House for Trump 2.0. He will also be among the most established Republican economists in Trump’s camp, having previously worked at the Federal Reserve and as an adviser to the presidential campaigns of George W. Bush, John McCain and Mitt Romney.
He has written that he “didn’t have the DNA of a Trump advisor,” but Hassett was a major defender of Trump’s agenda during both the first administration and the presidential campaign. That included helping Trump’s team shape its attacks on Vice President Kamala Harris as she rolled out her economic policies this summer.
