WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump is turning to two officials with experience navigating not only Washington but the key issues of income taxes and tariffs as he fills out his economic team.
Trump on Tuesday announced he has chosen international trade attorney Jamieson Greer to be his U.S. trade representative and Kevin Hassett as director of the White House National Economic Council.
While Trump has in several cases nominated outsiders to key posts, these picks reflect a recognition that his reputation will likely hinge on restoring the public’s confidence in the economy.
The president-elect also announced a number of other key personnel choices, including Vince Haley, who led Trump’s speechwriting department in his first term, as director of the Domestic Policy Council.
Trump said in a statement that Greer was instrumental in his first term in imposing tariffs on China and others and replacing the trade agreement with Canada and Mexico, “therefore making it much better for American Workers.”
Greer previously served as chief of staff to Robert Lighthizer, Trump’s former trade representative who is deeply skeptical of free trade. Greer is currently a partner at the King & Spalding law firm in Washington. He was not immediately available for comment.
If confirmed as trade representative, Greer would be responsible for negotiating directly with foreign governments on trade deals and disputes, as well as memberships in international trade bodies such as the World Trade Organization.
As director of the White House National Economic Council, Hassett brings into Trump’s administration a major advocate for tax cuts.
Trump said Hassett “will play an important role in helping American families recover from the inflation that was unleashed by the Biden Administration” and that together they would “renew and improve” the 2017 tax cuts, many of which are set to expire after 2025.
Hassett, 62, served in the first Trump term as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers. He has a doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania and worked at the right-leaning American Enterprise Institute before joining the Trump White House in 2017.
Hassett would join a White House seeking to preserve and expand its 2017 tax cuts at a time when deficit pressures are weighing on federal borrowing costs.
He has argued that the tax cuts helped to meaningfully boost household incomes. Inflation-adjusted median household incomes jumped more than $5,400 in 2019 to $81,210. But the tax cuts also came with higher budget deficits as any economic gains failed to offset lost revenues, setting up a challenge for the incoming Trump administration to manage the debt even as it cuts taxes and seeks to hold down inflation.
Also included in Tuesday’s nomination announcements were private investor and art collector John Phelan, chosen to serve as Navy secretary. It is unclear whether Phelan, who co-founded MSD Capital, served in the Navy or military.
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Boak reported from Nantucket, Massachusetts. Associated Press writer Paul Wiseman in Washington contributed to this report.
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