President Trump will appoint Kevin Hassett, an economist at the conservative American Enterprise Institute think tank, as a top White House economic adviser, according to reports Friday.
Hassett will serve as the chairman of Trump’s Council of Economic Advisers, Politico first reported. Reached Friday afternoon, Hassett referred inquiries to the White House, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The position would be subject to Senate confirmation.
In recent weeks, there had been speculation that Trump would not fill out the council, instead relying on his National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn and others for advice on policy matters.
Instead, he will turn to Hassett, a free-market economist whose current title is the State Farm James Q. Wilson Chair in American Politics and Culture at AEI.
Unlike some of Trump’s closest advisers on economic affairs, Hassett does not have a track record of backing populist measures regarding immmigration and trade.
Instead, he has advocated free trade, with tax reform, and has advised past Republican presidential candidates, including Mitt Romney, Sen. John McCain and George W. Bush.
Jason Furman, the last chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers under former President Barack Obama, praised Hassett on Twitter.
If true, Kevin is an excellent pick–he is committed to research and dialogue plus understands policy/politics. I wish him the best of luck. https://t.co/gYrEvymkn1
— Jason Furman (@jasonfurman) February 24, 2017
The council is tasked with producing the annual economic report of the president, providing forecasts for the White House, and generally advising the president on the merits of different policies. It is more of an academic role than the one played by the National Economic Council director.
Hassett, who has a PhD in economics from the University of Pennsylvania, is partly infamous for having written the 1999 book Dow 36,000 with James Glassman, which predicted a stock market boom shortly before the dotcom bubble burst.
The book, however, is just one of numerous writings he has published on topics such as the federal budget, taxes, and other economic topics.
In late 2015, he made a surprise appearance in headlines around the country for co-authoring a study critical of the evidence presented against New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady in the high-profile “deflategate” controversy in the 2015 AFC championship game.
