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Kevin Hassett pivots to possible ‘Trump cards’ amid credit card battle

admin — Sun, 18 Jan 2026 04:26:25 +0000

Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, speaks to members of the media outside the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Friday, Oct. 24, 2025.

Francis Chung | Bloomberg | Getty Images

White House economic advisor Kevin Hassett said Friday that large U.S. banks could voluntarily provide credit cards to underserved Americans as a means to address President Donald Trump’s affordability push.

A week ago, Trump called for banks to cap credit card interest rates at 10%, an idea that has been roundly rejected by industry executives and their lobbyists this week.

Now, Hassett, who is director of the National Economic Council, is floating a different plan, this one more narrowly focused on consumers who don’t have credit access but have the income to justify credit lines.

“They could potentially voluntarily provide for people who are in that sort of sweet spot of not having financial leverage very much because they don’t have access to credit, but they have enough income and stability in their lives so they’re worthy of credit,” Hassett told Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo.

“Our expectation is that it won’t necessarily require legislation, because there will be really great new ‘Trump cards’ presented for folks that are voluntarily provided by the banks,” he said.

The comments could indicate that the administration is downgrading its efforts for broad changes to the card industry that would be difficult to enact and that could hit consumer spending and the economy.

This week, bankers discussing fourth-quarter results said that rather than offering cards at a 10% interest rate, as Trump has said should happen by Jan. 20, the banks would simply close many customers’ accounts.

Hassett’s statement came in response to a question about whether bankers would be forced to comply with Trump’s rate cap, a move that would probably require new legislation.

The administration has been talking with “CEOs of many of the big banks who think that the president’s onto something,” Hassett said.

A major credit card issuer and a bank lobbyist representing big lenders told CNBC that they haven’t yet had any discussions with the administration about the “Trump card” concept.

The post Kevin Hassett pivots to possible ‘Trump cards’ amid credit card battle appeared first on Our Story Insight.

Kevin Warsh soars ahead of Hassett in Polymarket, Kalshi odds on next Fed chair after Trump signal

admin — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 17:21:06 +0000

Former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh soared ahead of National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett on prediction markets betting on the next Fed chair after President Trump on Friday hinted that Hassett might be out of the running.

Trump did not reveal his final choice to replace Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, but said he would like to keep Hassett in his current role.

“I see Kevin’s in the audience, and I just want to thank you. You were fantastic on television today,” the president said during remarks at the White House on Friday.

Former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh soared ahead in prediction markets betting on the next Fed chair Friday morning. Bloomberg via Getty Images

“I actually want to keep you where you are, if you want to know the truth.”

The odds of Warsh clinching the nomination jumped to 59% on Polymarket, while traders placed just a 15% chance that Hassett would land the job – following weeks in which markets placed better odds on Hassett.

Even current Fed Governor Christopher Waller, who has been considered a long shot, beat out the odds of a Hassett nomination with 15.6% on Polymarket. Traders also saw less than a 10% chance that BlackRock exec Rick Rieder could win the role.

Warsh also jumped to 59% odds on Kalshi, another prediction market. Hassett and Waller got 16% and 15% odds, respectively.

Trump has not set a specific date to name his pick for the next chairman. Powell’s term at the helm expires in May, though he could choose to stay on the board through 2028. He has so far declined to comment on whether he will remain a Fed governor.

On Sunday, Powell publicly shared that he’s under criminal investigation for allegedly lying during congressional testimony last summer — a stunning development that came after years of Trump blasting the chair for failing to lower interest rates quickly enough.

President Trump said Friday he would like to keep Kevin Hassett in his current role at the National Economic Council. AP

For weeks, the president has signaled he is looking at either Warsh or Hassett to replace Powell, adding that he has ruled out Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent “because he wants to stay where he is.”

Rieder and Waller have also been interviewed for the role.

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While Trump said he’d like to keep Hassett in his current job, it’s not impossible for him to win the nomination.

After Fed Governor Adriana Kugler unexpectedly resigned last summer, Trump tapped Stephen Miran, then a top White House economic adviser. Miran refused to fully resign from his White House role, instead taking an unpaid leave of absence.

Addressing White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles on Friday, Trump said, “We don’t want to lose him [Hassett], Susie, but we’ll see how it all works out.”

The post Kevin Warsh soars ahead of Hassett in Polymarket, Kalshi odds on next Fed chair after Trump signal appeared first on Our Story Insight.

Fed chief frontrunner Kevin Hassett will do whatever it takes to push through Trump’s MAGA-nomics

admin — Fri, 12 Dec 2025 14:59:12 +0000

Kevin Hassett remains the odds-on favorite to succeed Jerome Powell as chairman of the Federal Reserve — despite vast misgiving from Wall Street and CEO types.

“It’s in the president’s hands,” is how one person close to the process of nominating the next Fed chairman put it.

Trump began meeting with other candidates this week as he zeroes in on his decision for Fed chair. Earlier in the week, he sat down with former Fed governor Kevin Warsh, an academic at Stanford. Other candidates might make their way to the Oval for similar meetings.

Kebin Hassett is the overwhelming favorite to take the job because President Trump is obsessed with lowering short-term interest rates. Hassett is seen as a guy who will do whatever it is to push through Trump’s agenda. Jack Forbes/NY Post Design

But the managerial class — which is closely watching Trump’s choice for obvious reasons — sees these confabs as performative as opposed to substantive.

Hassett, every CEO and corporate executive I speak to, is the overwhelming favorite to take the job because Trump is obsessed with lowering short-term interest rates, and while the office’s current occupant just cut them a bit, Trump wants them cut more. Hassett is seen as a guy who will do whatever it is to push through Trump’s agenda.

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“He does it three times a day,” is how one CEO described Hassett’s cheerleading of MAGA economics as he vies for a job that is supposed to be independent from the White House.

The Fed, of course, was created by Congress to be semi-independent of the White House and politics. The president chooses the chairman subject to senate confirmation, but the term lasts four years and he can only be dismissed for “cause” like doing something illegal, or Powell would be out of there by now because he has resisted Trump’s efforts for him to cut short term interest rates more and faster.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell has resisted Trump’s efforts for him to cut short term interest rates more and faster. Xinhua/Shutterstock

The Fed is also known for its “dual mandate.” It conducts what’s known as monetary policy by increasing or decreasing the money supply through various measures including adjustments of short-term interest rates to achieve what’s known as “price stability.” The other part of the mandate involves creating as much employment that’s possible before the economy overheats and causes inflation.

It’s not an easy balancing and it often puts the Fed and the chairman who sets the policy tone at odds with the White House as Powell has been with Trump.

The betting is Trump won’t have that issue with Hassett, currently his director of the National Economic Council. Hassett has been reliable tout of MAGA policies such as tariffs, which some say has contributed to the sticky inflation that has led to the so-called affordability crisis, and ways Trump has sought to band-aid the situation by delivering tariff bonuses to many Americans or subsidies to farmers hurt in the trade war.

Earlier in the week, Trump interviewed former Fed governor Kevin Warsh, an academic at Stanford. REUTERS

Here’s why CEO and market types are worried about making him Fed chair: He could literally spook the bond market if traders are convinced he will keep printing money and do stuff that aid Trump’s economic plans such as massive cuts in short term rates, and ignore inflation.

That could lead to investors demanding higher rates to buy our debt, and when that happens — spiking yields on the 10-year and 30-year bonds — not only do we pay more to finance the budget deficit, it will likely lead to an economic slowdown.

Charlie Gasparino has his finger on the pulse of where business, politics and finance meet

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As I reported, CEOs have warned the White House that a Hassett nomination could disrupt the bond markets, and presumably that’s why Trump has held those meetings earlier in the week to show he’s triple-checking his gut on his choice to replace Powell when he retires next year.

But Trump isn’t easily swayed, and he likes what Hassett brings to the table. He’s TV ready (a big presence on my employer Fox News explaining MAGA economics) and has an accomplished resume. He holds a PhD in economics from the University of Pennsylvania and has served time in think tanks and at the Fed as an economist.

Yes he checks a lot of boxes including the one that really matters: He’s a Trump loyalist, which is why the betting markets have him as the favorite.

Could Trump surprise us all? Maybe. If he does, Wall Street will be cheering.

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