White House Adviser Urges 'Discipline' for Fed Economists Over Tariff Study

Hassett calls Fed paper an 'embarrassment' for showing Americans paying for tariffs

Feb. 22, 2026 at 9:47pm

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President Donald Trump's top economic adviser, Kevin Hassett, has criticized a recent Federal Reserve study that found American companies and consumers are paying nearly 90% of the new tariffs imposed by the White House. Hassett called the paper an "embarrassment" and said the economists behind it should be "disciplined", representing the latest attack from the Trump administration on the traditionally independent Fed.

Why it matters

The White House's criticism of the Fed study highlights the administration's sensitivity to concerns about rising consumer costs due to the trade war with China. Several other independent analyses have reached similar conclusions, contradicting the administration's claims that foreign exporters are bearing the brunt of the tariffs.

The details

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York study found that average tariffs on imports have risen from 2.6% at the beginning of 2018 to 13% by the end of the year, with U.S. businesses and consumers paying nearly 90% of those costs. This is because importers directly pay the tariffs to the Treasury, and foreign exporters have only slightly lowered their prices to offset the tariff increases.

  • The Fed study was published last week.
  • Hassett made his comments criticizing the study on Wednesday.

The players

Kevin Hassett

Director of the White House's National Economic Council and President Trump's top economic adviser.

Federal Reserve

The central banking system of the United States, which Hassett has accused of producing poor research on the impact of Trump's tariffs.

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What they’re saying

“The paper is an embarrassment. It's the worst paper I've ever seen in the history of the Federal Reserve system. The people associated with this paper should presumably be disciplined.”

— Kevin Hassett, Director of the White House's National Economic Council (CNBC)

What’s next

It remains to be seen if the White House will take any disciplinary action against the Federal Reserve economists who authored the tariff study.

The takeaway

The White House's strong criticism of the Fed study highlights the administration's sensitivity to evidence that American consumers and businesses are bearing the brunt of the costs from the trade war, contradicting the administration's claims. This latest attack on the Fed's independence raises concerns about political interference in the central bank's economic analysis.