Kevin Hassett's Career and Notable Achievements

Kevin Hassett is a well-known American economist and academic. He served as the Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers under President Donald Trump.

Hassett earned his Ph.D. in economics from the University of Pennsylvania. He has taught economics at various universities, including the University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University, and the University of California, Berkeley.

Kevin Hassett has had a diverse and impressive career in economics. He was an assistant professor of economics at Columbia Business School from 1989 to 1993.

Hassett's academic background is impressive, but he didn't stay in academia for long. He moved on to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, where he worked as an economist from 1992 to 1997.

After his time at the Federal Reserve, Hassett began working in the government, serving as a policy consultant to the United States Treasury Department during the George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton administrations.

Hassett has also worked on several presidential campaigns, serving as John McCain's chief economic adviser in the 2000 presidential primaries and as an economic adviser to the campaigns of George W. Bush in the 2004 presidential election and McCain in the 2008 presidential election, and Mitt Romney in 2012.

As a key figure in the Trump White House, Hassett was a top public spokesperson for the White House on economic policy and the state of the economy, appearing regularly on various news channels.

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Kevin Hassett is a coauthor of the book Dow 36,000, which was published in 1999 with James K. Glassman. The book's title was based on a calculation that stock prices would be approximately four times as high as they actually were.

The book predicted a significant rise in the stock market, but the dot-com bubble burst before the predicted peak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 10,273.00 on the day of the book's publication on October 1, 1999, and peaked at 11,722.98 105 days later.

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Kevin Hassett's work at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) has been a significant part of his career. He joined AEI as a resident scholar in 1997.

Hassett worked on various topics including tax policy, fiscal policy, energy issues, and investing in the stock market. He collaborated with R. Glenn Hubbard on papers and articles about the budget surplus, income inequality, and tax reform.

Some of Hassett's notable publications from his time at AEI include papers on capital taxation, the consistency of tax policy, and the effects of taxation on wages. He also wrote about dividend taxation and carbon taxes.

In 2003, Hassett was named director of economic policy studies at AEI. He has been a prolific writer, contributing columns to newspapers like The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal.

Here are some of Kevin Hassett's notable works and positions at AEI:

Hassett is the coauthor of Dow 36,000, a book published in 1999 that predicted a significant rise in the stock market.

The book's title was based on a calculation that stock prices would be approximately four times as high as they actually were in the absence of the equity premium.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 10,273.00 on October 1, 1999, the day the book was published.

It peaked at 11,722.98 just 105 days later, before starting a decline that lasted through October 9, 2002.

The decline was a significant 37.8% from its peak.

Kevin Hassett played a significant role in the Donald Trump administration, serving as the director of the National Economic Council during Trump's second term.

Hassett was reportedly shortlisted for nomination as chair of the Federal Reserve if former president Donald Trump were to win re-election in 2024. He became director of the NEC in January 2025 at the start of the second Trump administration.

Hassett defended Trump's tariff threats against other countries during his second term. In fact, he was a strong advocate for Trump's economic policies.

Here are some key roles Hassett held in the Trump administration:

Hassett's tenure in the Trump administration was marked by controversy, particularly regarding his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kevin Hassett, the National Economic Council Director, has been quite active in recent times. He spoke to reporters outside the White House on October 24, 2025, discussing various topics.

On October 20, 2025, Kevin Hassett spoke with reporters on the 20th day of a government shutdown. He shared his insights on the ongoing situation.

Kevin Hassett participated in a one-on-one discussion on U.S. economic policy on October 15, 2025. He likely shared his expertise on the topic.

Here are the key dates of Kevin Hassett's recent appearances: