Transcript: Kevin Hassett on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan,” May 24, 2026

The following is a transcript of an interview with Kevin Hassett, director of the White House National Economic Council, which aired on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on May 24, 2026.

NANCY CORDES: Welcome back to Face the Nation. We now turn to the Director of the National Economic Council, Kevin Hassett, who joins us from the White House North Lawn. Kevin, thank you so much for having me.

KEVIN HASSETT, NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL DIRECTOR: It’s great to be here. Thank you.

NANCY CORDES: I want to start by expressing your opinion on the state of the economy, because a confusing picture has emerged this week. The Dow Jones hit an all-time high, yet consumer sentiment fell sharply. Mortgage rates hit a nine-month high, inflation is up, and earnings at supermarkets like Walmart are up, in part because people from all income brackets are attracted to the current low rates. Are there storm clouds gathering in the economy?

: No, I don’t think there are any storm clouds gathering. And, actually, let’s start with the consumer sentiment number, because that was the number that was most interesting to you and me. I know that while it’s coming in a lot, it’s very low, and what we did is we went to their website and we looked at what they actually put out by political affiliation, so they have it for Democrats, independents and Republicans. And if you look at it, consumer sentiment in the form of high inflation for Biden, stagflation has been over 100 and has dropped to the low 30s now, probably the lowest it’s ever been for the Democrats, but for the Republicans it’s held steady, and if you look at it, independent examples and very much against us. Democrats, so if you go to consumer confidence, which is actually, I think, a more scientific survey, consumer confidence is in line with all the other good numbers that we’re seeing right now.

NANCY CORDES: But you don’t deny that the war has disrupted parts of the economy

: Right now, consumer confidence is at its highest since the beginning of the year, so you don’t see a battle of consumer confidence, which is the Conference Board survey, but also, GDP now, the Atlanta Fed’s second quarter GDP estimate is north of 4%. We have initial claims for unemployment insurance as low as they’ve been since the 60s, so there’s a lot going on, I think, surprising people who think disruption from the Middle East is going to hurt the economy. It’s not just in the data, except for the consumer sentiment data, but I actually think we should stop calling it consumer sentiment and start calling it political sentiment, because what’s really volatile is political volatility and not economic volatility.

NANCY CODES: Gasoline price data is undeniable. Gasoline prices over the Memorial Day weekend are at four-year highs. AAA says they’ll stay high through the summer, at least. Last month, he said the high electricity prices would be temporary. Did the White House paint a very good picture of the outcome of this war by insisting that this would be a four to six week trip.

: Well, I think four to six weeks was an accurate description of when the kind of active kinetic events would occur. Right now, I’m going to let the president decide if he thinks the deal is ready to go forward this week or not. But the bottom line is, once the straits are open, then the tankers will go back and refill the refineries almost immediately. A tanker travels about 300 miles a day, so places like India and Pakistan, which are close to the Straits, will get their oil and turn it into a refined product right away. Singapore, which is one of the places where the prices of jet fuel are the highest, will get their supplies quickly, but if you are in New Zealand, it will take a while, but in fact, between a month and two months, we expect everyone to have all the oil they need from all the refineries in the world.

NANCY CORDES: Well, we know things will get better once the road is open again. The question is when will it be open again.

: That’s right. Well, that’s something that the President and Marco Rubio and the Iranians have to sort out.

NANCY CORDES: I realize that as the Director of the White House Economic Council, this $1.8 billion anti-weapon fund is not part of your portfolio, but the withdrawal from that fund has disrupted the bill this week that includes funding for ICE and CBP, and federal funding is part of your portfolio, so what is the administration doing, if anything, to try to heal the wounds this presidential issue? They looked really angry and really closed their eyes.

: Well, I don’t know if they were, but there are certainly people who feel that way. And our head of leg news, James Braid, is a real expert. He was talking to everyone, he is planning to call us at the White House to talk to people and hear people’s concerns, but the important thing is that you know that we expect the progress that the President wants to see in Congress to happen. Congress has delivered a lot under the leadership of Mike Johnson, so I understand that, you know, something was a little different this week than you expected, but I don’t expect that to continue. Another thing we have seen in the primaries is that people who despise the president regret it politically.

NANCY’S CODE: The Wall Street Journal editorial board really criticized the president for that fund, on Saturday. They said, quote, Republicans don’t want to say this publicly, but they do it privately. President Trump’s political zealotry is harming his presidency, damaging his chances for foreign policy gains, and putting control of the House and Senate at risk. Does the President realize that he is putting Republicans in a difficult position by forcing them to vote on things they don’t like, like the budget, like the ballroom, like the war in the middle of a midterm election year.

: Look, I have a lot of respect for the Wall Street Journal. I saw Paul Gigot at the Kevin Ward signing just on Friday, but the bottom line is that the president believes that the ballroom is something that should have been there for a long time, and he’s using his money and the money of donors to do that so that the taxpayers don’t have to pay for that room, and as for the weapons, I’m not against it or against it-

NANCY CORDES: Well, they’re going to have to pay billions of dollars, right?

: No, it’s not for the ballroom, it’s for protecting the entire White House. And, my lord, arguing about that after we were all here yesterday, I actually wasn’t there, I was at my house, a few blocks away when the shooting happened. Yes, we should make the White House more secure, but for a $1.8 billion weapons fund, I don’t think you’d disagree, would you? The previous administration and the Obama administration armed the government against President Trump, and what he wants to do is to ensure that that does not happen again and to compensate the people who were victims of the destruction of their lives, which would make them call people to Jack Smith’s office, and then bury them with subpoenas and bankruptcy, and that is something that should not happen again, ever. And I think I- I doubt anyone would disagree with that.

NANCY CORDES: Kevin Hassett, Director of the National Economic Council, appreciate your time this morning.

: Thank you. Same here.

NANCY CORDES: And we’ll be right back.