Hassett calls on the Fed to "conduct more reflection"

Director Kevin Hassett of the National Economic Council stated on CNBC that he hopes to see the Federal Reserve "do a little bit more introspection". Hassett is seen as the top candidate to succeed Jerome Powell as Chairman of the Federal Reserve when his term expires in May. Hassett said that the Federal Reserve let inflation get out of control, "it would be best to know how this happened." He also said it would be best to ensure that this situation does not happen again. He added that the Federal Reserve's current interest rates are among the highest in the world, and although U.S. President Trump is disappointed, Hassett said he believes this is unrelated to a news report over the weekend stating that the Department of Justice is investigating Powell's testimony last summer regarding the central bank's renovation project.