White House Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Kevin Hassett speaks to reporters during the daily press briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S., February 22, 2018.
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
President-elect Donald Trump has selected Kevin Hassett to lead the National Economic Council, a position that puts him at the center of the administration’s policy-making discussions from trade to taxes and deregulation.
The move brings Trump closer to rounding out his economic team, with the U.S. Trade Representative being the last key position.
Trump made announcement In an article on Truth Social.
Trump also appointed attorney Jamison Greer as U.S. Trade Representative on Tuesday.
Hassett served as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers for two years during Trump’s first administration, supporting Republican corporate tax cuts and defending Trump’s punitive tariffs.
Hassett, 62, has also worked with Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, on immigration and supported moves to end sanctions waivers for countries that buy Iranian oil.
The appointment comes as Trump reiterates an additional 10% tariff on all Chinese goods entering the United States and a 25% tariff on all products from Mexico and Canada. Such a move will End regional free trade agreements.
Trump will be inaugurated as the next President of the United States on January 20.
Before Trump nominated Hassett to the White House in 2017, Hassett served as a fiscal policy scholar at the conservative American Enterprise Institute think tank.
Late last week, Trump expressed his intention to nominate Scott Bessent, founder of the hedge fund Key Square Group and an experienced market expert, as Treasury secretary.
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