National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said on Sunday that the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy decisions shouldn’t be subject to political influence amid the Trump administration’s calls for the central bank to cut interest rates.
Hassett appeared on CBS News’ “Face the Nation,” where host Margaret Brennan cited a CBS poll that found 70% of Americans want the Fed to make decisions independently of President Donald Trump, though 59% of Republicans want the Fed to be guided by what Trump wants. She then asked Hassett which camp he would fall into.
“Oh, if I were in that survey, then I would say 100% that monetary policy, Federal Reserve monetary policy, needs to be fully independent of political influence,” Hassett said.
“Including from President Trump,” he added in response to a follow-up question from Brennan.
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“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,” he said. “And so central bank independence is some that – as you saw, there was a hearing this week about that, that Democrats and Republicans and the White House all agreed 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 there’s some dispute about that,” Hassett said.
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Hassett’s comments come as President Trump and his allies have been pressing the Fed to cut interest rates, which the administration argues would stimulate economic growth while potentially lowering the cost of servicing America’s more than $37 trillion national debt.
The president has repeatedly threatened to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell, who he appointed to the role in 2017, though he has backed off those threats with Powell’s term as chairman set to expire in May 2026.
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Trump ally and Federal Housing Finance Agency director Bill Pulte submitted criminal referrals targeting Fed Governor Lisa Cook for alleged mortgage fraud. Cook hasn’t been charged with a crime and the Justice Department is investigating Pulte’s referrals.
After Cook refused to resign amid calls from Pulte and Trump to do so, the president fired her, citing the allegations as sufficient to remove her “for cause.”
Federal law governing the central bank doesn’t allow the president to remove a Fed governor except for cause, which is typically interpreted as malfeasance or misconduct.
Trump’s attempt to fire Cook marks the first time in U.S. history the president has attempted to fire a Federal Reserve official.
Cook filed a lawsuit to block the firing and allow her to remain a voting member of the Fed’s monetary policy panel.
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