Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent expressed confidence that the United States can avoid a broad recession even as some parts of the economy have slipped into contraction, saying in a televised interview that he is “very, very optimistic” about 2026.
On Sunday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent appeared on NBC's "Meet the Press" with host Kristen Welker, where he was pressed about the health of the U.S. economy amid mounting recession worries.
Welker cited Bessent's earlier comments that "there are sectors of the economy that are in a recession" and referenced National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett’s warning that analysts are seeing “pockets of the economy that look like they might be in a recession,” according to reporting by The Daily Wire.
Bessent acknowledged weakness in specific areas, telling Welker: "Well, clearly housing has been struggling … so interest rate-sensitive sectors have been in a recession," a remark reported by The Daily Wire and other outlets. He pointed to the recent 43-day, Democrat-led government shutdown as another drag on growth, saying it "wasn't helpful to the economy" and resulted in nearly 10,000 flights canceled and what he described as about a 1.5% hit to gross domestic product.
Separately, Bessent has said the shutdown caused an $11 billion permanent loss to the U.S. economy, according to Reuters and other news organizations, though he and other administration officials maintain that overall growth remains on track.
When asked on "Meet the Press" whether the entire country was at risk of entering a recession, Bessent rejected that view and focused on the outlook for next year and beyond. "No, I am very confident about 2026 because what we are going to see is the president has done peace deals, tax deals, and trade deals," he said, according to The Daily Wire.
He highlighted President Donald Trump’s signature economic package, which he called the "One Big, Beautiful Bill." Bessent said the legislation is aimed at affordability by addressing both the prices Americans pay and their real incomes. As described in The Daily Wire’s account of the interview, Bessent said that, under the measure, working Americans would see no federal tax on tips, no tax on overtime, no tax on Social Security benefits, and tax deductibility for auto loans on American-made cars, provisions he said are scheduled to take effect and are intended to bolster household finances.
Bessent predicted that changes in tax withholding linked to the bill would provide relief early in the year after implementation. He said that when Americans adjust their withholding, there will be "substantial refunds to working families in the first quarter of 2026."
Across multiple interviews in recent weeks, Bessent has tied his optimism to easing interest rates, planned tax cuts and trade agreements, and what he describes as a shift toward stronger, non‑inflationary growth. "I am very, very optimistic on 2026. We have set the table for a very strong, non-inflationary growth economy," he told NBC, according to Reuters and other outlets.
The interview and its aftermath have drawn wider attention online. The Daily Wire highlighted Bessent’s comments in a Sunday report, and the outlet Breaking911 shared a clip of the appearance on the social platform X on November 23, 2025, characterizing his message as predicting strong growth in the Trump economy heading into 2026.
