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<\/p>\nTreasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Sunday said \u201cno\u201d when asked whether the U.S. was at risk of entering a recession in 2026, telling NBC News\u2019 \u201cMeet the Press\u201d he\u2019s confident Americans will feel economic relief next year stemming from President Donald Trump\u2019s tariff agenda and trade deals.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am very, very optimistic on 2026. We have set the table for a very strong, noninflationary growth economy,\u201d Bessent told moderator Kristen Welker.<\/p>\n
He also said, \u201cWe believe health care is going to come down,\u201d adding that the Trump administration would have news on that front this week.<\/p>\n
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The treasury secretary acknowledged that there is some pressure on the economy in certain sectors like housing, responding to comments from National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett earlier this month that \u201cwe\u2019re starting to see pockets of the economy that look like they might be in a recession.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cClearly, housing has been struggling, and interest rate-sensitive sectors have been in a recession,\u201d Bessent said Sunday. He added that the recent government shutdown, which was the longest in history, also squeezed the economy.<\/p>\n
An NBC News poll earlier this month found that about two-thirds of registered voters say the Trump administration has fallen short<\/a> on the economy and the cost of living.<\/p>\n Still, the treasury secretary pointed to the GOP\u2019s landmark domestic policy package that Trump signed into law over the summer \u2014 the president\u2019s \u201cbig, beautiful bill\u201d \u2014 and to the Trump\u2019s tariff and trade agenda as signs that 2026 will yield a stronger economy for Americans.<\/p>\n \u201cI am very confident about 2026, because what we are going to see is the president has done peace deals, tax deals and trade deals [and] the \u2018One Big, Beautiful Bill,\u2019\u201d Bessent said, adding that the various components of that legislation are \u201call kicking in.\u201d<\/p>\n Also Sunday, the treasury secretary published<\/a> an opinion piece in The Washington Post calling for an end to the Senate filibuster.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s time for Republicans to acknowledge that the filibuster no longer serves the country \u2014 and to be prepared to end it,\u201d he wrote in the piece, later telling Welker that it was meant \u201cto put the Senate on notice.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe Democrats haven\u2019t been able to stop President Trump in the courts. They haven\u2019t been able to stop him in the media, so they had to harm the American people \u2014 <\/strong>1.5% hit to GDP,\u201d Bessent said, referencing the recent shutdown. \u201cThey don\u2019t care. So I believe that Senate Democrats \u2014 if Senate Democrats close the government again, that Senate Republicans should immediately abrogate the filibuster.\u201d<\/p>\n Bessent also blasted several Democratic lawmakers who are former military and intelligence officers after they released a video telling current military and intelligence officers that they \u201cmust refuse\u201d any illegal orders given by the Trump administration.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I am confident of is that this was a display of gross, gross negligence,\u201d he said, not answering a question about whether the Trump administration is issuing illegal orders.<\/p>\n He added, \u201cThere is one commander in chief, and when you step outside of the chain of command and try to create the noise and chaos, that only helps our enemies.\u201d<\/p>\n He also spoke about the ongoing peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, voicing support for a 28-point peace deal backed by the U.S. that has drawn concern<\/a> from Ukrainians, European leaders and a bipartisan group of senators who say the peace proposal favors Russia.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the end of the day, it\u2019s going to be a decision with the Ukrainians. President Trump is a president of peace,\u201d Bessent said before blasting European leaders who are planning more sanctions on Russia.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Europeans tell me, \u2018Oh, we are doing our 19th sanctions package.\u2019 In my mind … if you\u2019re going to do something 19 times, you failed,\u201d the treasury secretary said, instead praising Trump\u2019s economic sanctions package on India, which targeted Russian oil.<\/p>\n