Is the United States at risk of a recession next year? Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said “no” Sunday when asked that question on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” program.
Bessent said he is confident Americans will feel economic relief next year stemming from President Donald Trump’s tariff agenda and trade deals.
“I am very, very optimistic on 2026. We have set the table for a very strong, noninflationary growth economy,” Bessent told moderator Kristen Welker. “We believe healthcare is going to come down.”
Bessent added that the Trump administration would have news on that front sometime this week.
Acknowledging that that there is some pressure on the economy in certain sectors such as housing, Bessent responded to comments from National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett earlier this month that “we’re starting to see pockets of the economy that look like they might be in a recession.”
Bessent said there are pressures on the economy, however.
“Clearly, housing has been struggling, and interest rate-sensitive sectors have been in a recession,” Bessent said Sunday. He said the recent government shutdown — the longest in U.S. history — also squeezed the economy.
Parts of ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ Just Kicking In, Bessent Says
NBC News said one of its polls earlier this month found that roughly two-thirds of registered voters say the Trump administration has fallen short on the economy and the cost of living.
Bessent, however, pointed to the GOP’s domestic policy package that Trump signed into law over the summer — the president’s “big, beautiful bill” — and to the Trump’s tariff and trade agenda as signs that 2026 will yield a stronger economy for Americans.
“I am very confident about 2026, because what we are going to see is the president has done peace deals, tax deals and trade deals [and] the ‘One Big, Beautiful Bill,’” Bessent said. He said the various components of that legislation are “all kicking in.”
Hassett, in a separate interview on Fox, also predicted that “it’s going to be an absolute blockbuster year ahead.”
He said the data is promising.
“The good news for the next year is that the factories are going to be in place, and then people are going to start getting the jobs next to the machines and everything else. And so it really, really is a very, very promising set of data,” Hassett said.
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