4 hours ago
3
You have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said some sectors were in a recession as he argued for more interest rate cuts.
Nov. 4, 2025, 2:13 p.m. ET
The Trump administration is wielding the possibility that parts of the economy are in a recession as it raises pressure on the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates, hoping to ensure that the central bank will bear the blame for any economic weakness.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Stephen Miran, President Trump’s appointee to the Fed’s Board of Governors who is on a temporary leave from his job leading the White House’s Council of Economic Advisers, this week struck a downbeat tone about the health of the world’s largest economy. Mr. Bessent went so far as to say some sectors were already contracting. He did not specify which sectors, but high mortgage rates have put housing and adjacent industries such as construction under pressure.
“I think that there are sectors of the economy that are in recession,” Mr. Bessent said on CNN on Sunday. He described the economy as being in a “period of transition” because of a pullback in government spending to reduce the deficit. He called on the Fed to support the economy by cutting interest rates.
Mr. Bessent’s remarks added to pressure on the Fed and deflected blame from Mr. Trump in case the economy does ultimately face a downturn, reinforcing a strategy that has been in place since the start of the year. As the administration has imposed aggressive tariffs on nearly all of America’s trading partners and slashed federal spending, potentially slowing growth, it has sought to pin blame squarely on the Fed in the event of an economic downturn.
“This is all going to be put at the Fed’s feet,” said Joseph Brusuelas, chief economist for the accounting firm RSM.
For months, Mr. Trump has assailed Jerome H. Powell, the Fed chair, for moving too slowly to lower interest rates. That has included branding Mr. Powell as “Mr. Too Late” and a “numbskull.” Over the summer, he escalated his pressure campaign on the central bank and took more aggressive steps to reshape the top ranks responsible for making policy decisions.
