Treasury Secretary Bessent Says Further Fed Rate Cuts Are ‘Only Missing Ingredient’ for Stronger Economy

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Thursday emphasized the administration’s desire to lower interest rates, saying they are key to future economic growth.

In a speech to the Economic Club of Minnesota, Bessent supported the president Donald Trumpof the country’s economic agenda and said looser monetary policy would help pave the way for future gains.

“Reducing interest rates will have a tangible impact on the lives of every Minnesotan,” he said, according to excerpts obtained from a source within the administration. “This is the only missing ingredient for even stronger economic growth. This is why the Fed should not delay.”

The Federal Reserve approved three consecutive interest rate cuts over the last four months of 2025, totaling 0.75 percentage points and bringing the central bank’s key interest rate to a range of 3.5% to 3.75%.

However, the pace of reductions should slow down significantly this year, with markets pricing in just two cuts and Fed officials’ most recent projections pointing to just one.

An unpredictable element in this equation is that the Fed will get a new chair this year, a process that Bessent is overseeing. Current President Jerome Powell’s term ends in May, and the Treasury Secretary has narrowed the field to five. National Economic Council head Scott Bessent and former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh. are the two betting favorites to get the job.

While lower interest rates risk boosting inflation, they could also help support the slowdown in the labor market.

“In 2025, the President laid the foundation for robust economic growth with: the historic passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill, trade deals that rewrote decades of global misalignment; and an ambitious deregulatory agenda that empowered American entrepreneurs and businesses,” Bessent said. “Now, in 2026, we will reap the rewards of President Trump’s America First agenda.”

Bessent will deliver the speech at 12:45 p.m. ET.