Hassett says Trump would have 'no weight' on Fed's decision-making if he's chair

By Mike Murphy

Director of the National Economic Council Kevin Hassett speaks to reporters outside of the White House in November.

Kevin Hassett, President Donald Trump's top economic adviser, on Sunday dismissed concerns that he would simply push Trump's agenda if he's chosen as the next Fed chair.

Speaking on CBS News' "Face the Nation," Hassett said that if were Fed chair, Trump's voice would have "no weight" on the Fed's interest-rate decisions.

"His opinion matters if it's good. You know, if it's based on data," he told host Margaret Brennan, according to a transcript. "And then if you go to the committee and you say, 'well, the president made this argument and that's a really sound argument, I think, what do you think?' If they reject it, then they'll vote in a different way."

On Friday, Trump told the Wall Street Journal that his pick to lead the Fed is down to "the two Kevins" - Hassett and former Fed governor Kevin Warsh. On Saturday, the Financial Times reported that JPMorgan Chase Chief Executive Jamie Dimon had expressed support for Warsh at a closed-door event last week.

Read more: Kevin Warsh's odds of becoming Fed chair leap higher as Dimon signals support

Trump has repeatedly attacked current Fed Chair Jerome Powell for not cutting rates fast enough. Powell's term ends in May, and the president has made clear his desire to replace him with someone friendlier to his wishes. There have been worries that Hassett would pursue Trump's agenda of aggressive interest-rate cuts, which could undermine the Treasury market, and that his allegiance to Trump would undermine the Fed's independence.

Hassett, who currently leads White House's National Economic Council, said Sunday that he talks with Trump "almost every day," and that would likely continue if he were in charge of the Fed.

"I'd be happy to talk to the president every day, you know, until both of us are dead because it's so much fun to talk... I would hope that Kevin Warsh would be talking to the president as well if he were Fed chair," he said.

But in the end, Hassett said it's the Federal Open Market Committee that makes interest-rate decisions, not him alone.

"The job of the Fed is to be independent and to work with the group of people that are on the Board of Governors at the FOMC, to drive a group consensus on where interest rates should be. And to do so, you know, basically with the guidance of the Fed chair. But in the end, it's a committee that votes," he said.

-Mike Murphy

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