National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett is expected to leave the White House in the coming weeks, according to three people familiar with his plans. The expected departure would remove Donald Trump’s top economic adviser from a central role as staffing changes continue inside the White House.
Hassett has been inquiring about roles outside the administration since well before this month's midterm elections. Scott Bessent and his counselor David Zervos are among those being eyed to replace him, but the White House and the Treasury Department did not provide comment for the story.
Kevin Hassett and the economic team
Trump tapped Hassett to return as his top economic adviser nearly two years ago. Since then, Hassett has served as the face of the economic fallout from the Iran war and Trump's campaign against Jerome Powell, and he was in the running to replace Powell.
The expected exit comes after Ryan Baasch, Hassett's deputy, left the White House at the end of September. That departure, combined with the shift in Hassett's own plans, points to a broader reshuffling around the National Economic Council rather than a single personnel change.
White House staffing changes
More recently, Trump replaced Susie Wiles with Stephen Miller as his chief of staff, and roles under Miller have been shifting in recent weeks. Multiple people inside and close to the administration expect further staffing changes and departures as the year comes to a close.
Howard Lutnick is also in the crosshairs amid scrutiny over his handling of export controls on AI chips, adding to the pressure on the administration's economic and policy team. Hassett's departure is not tied to Republicans' lackluster midterm results, even though the report surfaced immediately after the elections.
What comes after Hassett
In February, an executive order sought to expand access to retirement plans for workers whose employers do not provide one, following Hassett's longtime advocacy for recreating the government's Thrift Savings Plan for private-sector workers. The order took a less ambitious approach by creating a website where workers can shop existing plans, showing how his policy preferences were translated only in part while he remained in the White House.
What role Hassett may take outside the administration is not answered. For now, the practical question for the White House is whether Bessent or Zervos would inherit a job that has sat at the center of the administration's economic response.
