White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett discusses interest rates, calls from President Donald Trump to pick a new Federal Reserve chair and more on ‘Varney & Co.’

President Trump has the authority to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for cause if evidence supports that, White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said on Sunday, and that the Fed “has a lot to answer for” on renovation cost overruns at its Washington headquarters.

Patriotism is now being used as an inflation control strategy by the White House, according to economic advisor Kevin Hassett, who on Monday told CNBC’s Squawk Box that Americans are choosing to buy more local products because of President Trump.

"The bottom line is that President Trump has produced a huge amount of tariff revenue with the tariffs we've seen in the first half of the year," National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said

The following is the transcript of an interview with Kevin Hassett, National Economic Council director, that aired on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" on July 6, 2025.

Kevin Hassett, Trump’s adviser and current director of the National Economic Council, gave an interview with CNBC on Sunday in which he said firing Powell was “being looked into” and praised the US president as “one of the most successful, if not the most successful businessmen in the 20th century”.

National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett defended Donald Trump’s newly unveiled 50% tariff against Brazil on ABC News' "This Week."

White House National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett said Sunday that "rough outlines of the deals are becoming clear" ahead of a key tariff deadline this week.