U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks during a press conference to unveil the official Trump Accounts website, at the Treasury Department in Washington, D.C., U.S., December 17, 2025.
Aaron Schwartz | Reuters
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Thursday pressed the administration’s desire for lower interest rates, saying they are the key to future economic growth.
In a speech he will deliver before the Economic Club of Minnesota, Bessent backed President Donald Trump‘s economic agenda and said easier monetary policy will help pave the way for gains ahead.
“Cutting interest rates will have a tangible impact on the lives of every Minnesotan,” he said, according to excerpts obtained in an official draft from an administration source. “It is the only ingredient missing for even stronger economic growth. Which is why the Fed should not delay.”
The Federal Reserve approved three consecutive interest rate cuts in the final four months of 2025, totaling 0.75 percentage point and taking the central bank’s key interest rate down to a range of 3.5%-3.75%.
However, the pace of reductions is expected to slow considerably this year, with markets pricing in just two cuts and the most recent projections from Fed officials pointing to just one.
One wild card in that equation is that the Fed will get a new chair this year, a process that Bessent is overseeing. Current Chair Jerome Powell‘s term ends in May, and the Treasury secretary has whittled down the candidates to five. National Economic Council leader Kevin Hassett and former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh are the two betting favorites to get the position.
While lower interest rates carry the threat of reigniting inflation, they also could help support a slowing labor market.
“In 2025, the President laid the foundation for robust economic growth with: the historic passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill, trade deals that rewrote decades of global misalignment; and an ambitious deregulation agenda that empowered American entrepreneurs and businesses,” Bessent said. “Now, in 2026, we will reap the rewards of President Trump’s America First agenda.”
Bessent will deliver the speech at 12:45 p.m. ET.
Correction: This story has been updated to correct that Kevin Hassett is leader of the National Economic Council.