Kevin Hassett, a top Trump economic adviser, is set to leave the White House after a three-month stint helping to manage the nation’s economic recovery. But he had some ominous parting words.
“I think everyone should be worried about how this is going to turn out in the end, because it’s a shock unlike anything we’ve ever seen,” Hassett told The Washington Post on Monday.
Hassett had previously served as the chair of the Council of Economic Advisers from late 2017 to mid-2019. The outgoing adviser told the newspaper he was encouraged by the “massive” uptick in economic data, particularly on credit card spending, in at least 17 states that rivaled or outpaced last year’s.
Read more:A 30-year market veteran explains why we’re in ‘one of the nutsiest bubbles in the history of bubbledom’ — and warns of an ‘underwater’ economy for the next several years
Hassett told The Post he was brought onboard to shore up the administration’s ability to sift through data, and he connected the White House economic and health teams, the newspaper reported.
“When I came back, nobody knew where the ventilators were or how many we were going to need — there were a million data-intensive questions I came back to help out with … They needed an extra set of hands,” Hassett said. “Now, it’s functioning as normally as possible because we’ve built the tools you need.”
He was blasted for publishing a chart that showed deaths from coronavirus plummeting to zero by May 15. Around 800 Americans are still dying each day from the virus.
Other top economic advisers to the administration have left in recent weeks, raising concerns that the White House could be short of experienced economists capable of helping restore the nation’s economic health.
They include Andrew Olmen, a deputy director of the White House National Economic Council, and Eric Ueland, formerly the White House director of legislative affairs.
Unemployment currently stands at 13.3%, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It’s the highest level since the Great Depression.
