Trump economic adviser: job market is weakening, Fed's current rate cuts reasonable

On October 18, Kevin Hassett, an economic advisor to the Trump administration, said in an interview that “the Fed's move last month to cut its key interest rate by 50 basis points instead of 25 basis points was reasonable because the data showed that the job market was weakening. It made sense to start cutting rates sharply based on the data they had at the time, when it did look like economic growth was slowing sharply.”

Hassett's comments clash with Trump's condemnation of the Fed's actions during a speech earlier this month at the Detroit Economic Club. At the time, Trump said, “The fact is, the Fed cut rates too fast. The cuts are so big that everyone knows it's a political maneuver they're trying to do before the election.'' He implied the Fed was trying to lower borrowing costs to help his Democratic opponent, Harris.

Hassett is reportedly a fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution and has chaired the Trump administration's Council of Economic Advisers since 2017. He has stayed in Trump's circle and will be expected to move into leadership, including potentially running the Fed, if the Republican candidate defeats Harris next month.