During a recent appearance on CNBC's "Squawk Box," Kevin Hassett, who serves as Director of the National Economic Council, articulated a defense of the current economic environment under President Donald Trump's administration. Hassett highlighted that the U.S. economy is in a phase of significant expansion, attributing the positive momentum primarily to the administration’s policies rather than actions taken by the Federal Reserve.
Hassett described the economy as "booming right now because of Trump's policies" and pointed out that the Federal Reserve has set "amongst the highest interest rates on Earth" at present. Acknowledging the president's frustration with these restrictive monetary measures, Hassett clarified that this dissatisfaction is unrelated to recent discussions around an alleged criminal indictment against Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell from the Department of Justice.
When questioned about whether the Federal Reserve deserves credit for avoiding interference that could hinder positive economic trends, Hassett pushed back. Instead, he suggested that central bankers could benefit from more introspection regarding their previous handling of inflation. Reflecting on the peak inflation rate of 9.1% recorded year-over-year in 2022—the highest since 1981—he underscored the importance of understanding how inflation escalated to that degree and the necessity of a clear strategy to prevent recurrence.
To reinforce the administration’s influence on economic growth, Hassett pointed to indicators such as gross domestic product (GDP) and manufacturing output. He noted that the GDP had increased beyond 5% in the fourth quarter following a 2.4% rise in the third quarter, which he attributed to the efficacy of President Trump's policies.
However, data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics presents a more nuanced picture concerning employment. The latest employment report details that employers added approximately 584,000 jobs throughout 2025, marking a significant slowdown compared to the 2 million jobs added in 2024. Concurrently, annual wage growth has stagnated, registering its weakest pace outside of recessionary periods since the early 2000s.
Moody’s Analytics Chief Economist Mark Zandi linked this deceleration in job creation to trade and tariff strategies implemented by the Trump administration. He remarked that the employment impact senior staff have observed reflects the direct consequences of tariffs in sectors such as manufacturing, transportation, and distribution.
Supplementing this perspective, Joel Griffith, a Senior Fellow at the advocacy organization Advancing American Freedom, highlighted persistent job losses in the manufacturing sector. He pointed out that manufacturing jobs have declined consecutively for eight months starting in April, coinciding with the initial introduction of the so-called "Liberation Day" tariffs under President Trump. Griffith commented that these tariffs, intended to protect manufacturing jobs, appear to be adversely affecting the industry they aimed to preserve.
The contrasting interpretations between economic growth indicators and employment data suggest a complex interaction between policy decisions and sectoral outcomes. While metrics like GDP and factory activity imply robust economic health, workforce trends in manufacturing and wage growth caution toward underlying challenges associated with particular policy measures.