WASHINGTON — A news report on Friday said Kevin Hassett, the director of the White House National Economic Council and one of President Donald Trump's top economic aides, is expected to leave the administration in the coming weeks. Hassett and the White House both denied it the same day, in plain terms.
What Semafor reported
The news outlet Semafor reported on Friday afternoon that Hassett "is expected to depart his role at the White House in the coming weeks," citing three people familiar with his plans. Semafor said Hassett "has been inquiring about roles outside the administration since well before this month's midterm elections," which means, if the report is right, that he was looking at the door before voters handed control of both the House and the Senate to the Democrats on November 3. Semafor also said his move was not tied to the election results, and that his plans could still change.
Semafor named two possible replacements. One is Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who, Semafor said, could hold both jobs at once. The other is David Zervos, a counselor to Bessent at the Treasury Department.
The denials
Hassett answered the report himself. In a text message to CNBC reporter Eamon Javers, he said the report is "not true."
The White House backed him later on Friday. An official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told CNBC: "There is no factual basis for this reporting. Kevin Hassett is a key member of President Trump's economic team and will continue working to advance President Trump's economic policies."
Two others named in the story did not add anything. Zervos, reached by phone after the Semafor story came out, declined to comment, according to CNBC. Bessent has made no public comment, and the Treasury Department did not respond right away when Reuters asked about the report.
A denial is not proof, one way or the other. It is the official position, stated clearly and on the record by both the man himself and his employer. Reports like this one sometimes turn out to be wrong, and sometimes they appear days or weeks before a departure is announced. As of Friday night, Hassett still had his job, and no announcement of any change had been made.
Who Hassett is, and why the job matters
Hassett is an economist who has been close to Trump for years. He ran the White House Council of Economic Advisers in Trump's first term, left in 2019, and came back as a senior adviser during the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year he was widely discussed as a possible chairman of the Federal Reserve, the central bank. Trump picked Kevin Warsh for that job instead, and Hassett stayed at the White House as head of the National Economic Council.
The council is the White House office that pulls the government's economic policy together in one place. Its director gathers the views of the Treasury Department, the Commerce Department and other agencies, settles fights between them where he can, and puts the choices in front of the president. Trade, taxes, jobs and regulations all pass through the office. Whoever runs it shapes almost every economic decision the president makes.
The Bessent question
The most unusual part of the Semafor report is the idea that Bessent could hold both jobs. The Treasury secretary runs a huge department that collects taxes, pays the government's bills and manages its debt. The economic council director is the president's own coordinator inside the White House. Putting both roles in one person's hands would give that person control of the department that carries out economic policy and the office that helps decide it. No rule appears to forbid it, but the two jobs are each full time, and they are normally held by two different people who can check and balance each other.
What to watch
The report lands in the middle of a wider shakeup. Since the midterm defeat, Trump has replaced his chief of staff, with Stephen Miller taking over from Susie Wiles, and several Justice Department officials have left, including Harmeet Dhillon, who ran the civil rights division. If Hassett's plans are what Semafor's sources say they are, an announcement would settle the question. If he stays and keeps appearing as the public face of the economic team, the denials will have been the story. Either way, the answer should be clear within the weeks Semafor named.
Reporting note: This story is based on the Semafor report of November 13, 2026, as quoted by Political Wire and Biztoc and summarized by Reuters; on Reuters reporting of November 13, 2026, including its account of the White House denial and of Hassett's earlier career; and on CNBC's report of November 13, 2026, read in full through a syndicated copy, which carried Hassett's text message denial, the White House statement, and Zervos declining to comment. Semafor's own article could not be opened directly; its key sentences were verified through two outlets quoting it word for word. Bessent had not commented publicly as of Friday night.
