Trump picks top economic adviser

President Trump on Friday announced that he plans to nominate American Enterprise Institute (AEI) scholar Kevin Hassett to be chairman of his Council of Economic Advisers.

The council provides recommendations to the president on economic policy that are based on research. The nomination comes as the Trump administration is in the early stages of preparing a tax-reform plan.

Hassett is director of research for domestic policy at AEI and has studied how tax policy affects companies’ behavior and citizens’ welfare. He has previously been a senior economist at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve and a professor at Columbia University’s business school, according to the White House.

He was an economic adviser to the presidential campaigns of Mitt Romney, John McCain and George W. Bush, and was a consultant to the Treasury Department while George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton were president.

Jason Furman, who served as CEA chair under President Obama, tweeted that Hassett is an “excellent pick.”

 Kevin Hassett is an excellent pick. He is serious about substance, committed to dialogue, & knows how to navigate DC. I wish him good luck.

— Jason Furman (@jasonfurman) April 7, 2017