White House Denies Report That Top Trump Economic Aide Hassett Is Leaving

The White House has denied a report that Kevin Hassett, the director of the National Economic Council and one of President Donald Trump’s most senior economic advisers, is expected to leave the administration in the coming weeks.

Semafor reported on Friday that Hassett was preparing to depart, citing three people familiar with his plans. Within hours, Hassett himself called the report “not true”, and a White House official said there was “no factual basis” for it. As of Friday night, no announcement of any change had been made, and Hassett remained in his post.

The conflicting accounts leave the question of who coordinates the White House’s economic policy open — and, for now, unresolved.

What Semafor reported

According to Semafor, Hassett “is expected to depart his role at the White House in the coming weeks”. The outlet said he had been inquiring about roles outside the administration since well before this month’s midterm elections, and that his departure was not tied to the election results.

Semafor also reported that Hassett’s plans could still change, and described the move as the latest in a series of staffing changes at the White House. The report was picked up by Reuters, which noted that neither the White House nor the Treasury Department commented when the story was first published.

The report landed ten days after the 3 November midterm elections, in which Democrats retook both chambers of Congress, delivering a blow to the Republican president’s agenda. Semafor characterised the departure as unrelated to that result.

The denials

Hassett answered the report himself. In a text message to CNBC reporter Eamon Javers, he said the report is “not true”.

The White House backed him later on Friday. An official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told CNBC: “There is no factual basis for this reporting. Kevin Hassett is a key member of President Trump’s economic team and will continue working to advance President Trump’s economic policies.”

David Zervos, a counsellor to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and one of the names put forward as a possible successor, declined to comment. Bessent had not commented publicly as of Friday night.

Who could take over

Semafor named two people who could succeed Hassett if he did leave. One is Scott Bessent, the Treasury Secretary, who could hold both jobs at once. The other is Zervos, Bessent’s counsellor at the Treasury Department.

Either choice would keep economic policy coordination in familiar hands. Bessent has become one of the administration’s most visible economic voices, and the Treasury Department already works closely with the National Economic Council on tax, trade and financial policy.

The National Economic Council is the White House body that coordinates economic policy across government departments. Its director sits at the centre of decisions on growth, inflation, trade and the federal budget, and acts as a bridge between the president, the Treasury and the Federal Reserve.

Why it matters

Hassett is one of the longest-serving economic figures in Trump’s orbit. He chaired the Council of Economic Advisers during the president’s first term, from 2017 to 2019, before returning to lead the National Economic Council in the second term.

A change at the top of the council would come at a sensitive moment for the administration’s economic programme. With Democrats now in control of both chambers of Congress, the White House faces a harder fight over tax, spending and trade legislation, and the council’s role in shaping that agenda matters more than ever.

Markets, for their part, have had a strong week. Wall Street posted its best week since August, with the S&P 500 gaining 2.5%, even as questions about the direction of economic policy continue to hang over Washington.

For now, though, the only facts that are certain are the report and the denial. Semafor says Hassett is expected to go; Hassett and the White House say he is staying. Until one side’s account is proved right — by an announcement, or by Hassett simply remaining in the job — the departure remains unconfirmed.