Exclusive: Hassett expected to depart White House
Trump’s top economic adviser has served in his role since the start of the president’s second term. National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett is expected to depart his role at the White House in the coming weeks, three people familiar with his plans told Semafor. Hassett has been inquiring about roles outside the administration since well before this month’s midterm elections, some of the people said. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who could hold both jobs, and his counselor, David Zervos, are among those being eyed to replace him. Hassett’s plans haven’t been officially announced and, like much in the Trump administration, there’s always the chance they could change. Neither the White House nor the Treasury Department provided comment for this story. President Donald Trump tapped Hassett, who served in the first Trump administration, to return as his top economic adviser nearly two years ago. Since then, Hassett’s served as the face of everything from the economic fallout from the Iran war to the president’s campaign against former Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Hassett, who was in the running to replace Powell, saw one of his top priorities advance in February, wh
Trump’s top economic adviser has served in his role since the start of the president’s second term. National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett is expected to depart his role at the White House in the coming weeks, three people familiar with his plans told Semafor. Hassett has been inquiring about roles outside the administration since well before this month’s midterm elections, some of the people said. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who could hold both jobs, and his counselor, David Zervos, are among those being eyed to replace him.
Hassett’s plans haven’t been officially announced and, like much in the Trump administration, there’s always the chance they could change. Neither the White House nor the Treasury Department provided comment for this story. President Donald Trump tapped Hassett, who served in the first Trump administration, to return as his top economic adviser nearly two years ago. Since then, Hassett’s served as the face of everything from the economic fallout from the Iran war to the president’s campaign against former Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
Hassett, who was in the running to replace Powell, saw one of his top priorities advance in February, when the president signed an executive order that sought to expand access to retirement plans for workers whose employers don’t provide one. The order, first reported by Semafor, followed Hassett’s longtime advocacy for recreating the government’s Thrift Savings Plan for private-sector workers — but ultimately took a less ambitious approach, creating a website where workers can shop existing plans.
Hassett’s expected departure, while not tied to Republicans’ lackluster midterm results, would be the latest in a series of staffing changes hitting the Trump administration in recent weeks. Hassett’s deputy, Ryan Baasch, left the White House at the end of September. More recently, Trump replaced his then-chief of staff Susie Wiles with Stephen Miller, the architect of the administration’s strict immigration policies. Roles under Miller have been shifting in recent weeks, as Semafor reported.
Multiple people inside and close to the administration say they expect further staffing changes and departures as the year comes to a close. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is currently in the crosshairs amid scrutiny over his handling of export controls on AI chips.