White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett predicted Sunday that the U.S. economy could achieve annual gross domestic product growth exceeding 6% this year, far above most mainstream economic forecasts.
Hassett made the comments during an appearance on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures” while discussing economic conditions under President Donald Trump’s administration.
“I think we really could be looking at numbers north of 4, north of 5, north of even 6 because there’s so much capital stock growth right now,” Hassett said during the interview.
The White House economic adviser argued a recent surge in capital investment, particularly involving artificial intelligence and factory construction, could rapidly accelerate economic growth throughout 2026.
“Once we turn those factories on, you’re going to see really growth unlike anything we have seen before,” Hassett said while describing investment trends across manufacturing and technology sectors.
The US economy expanded by 2% during the first quarter of 2026, according to recently released government economic data cited during the interview and related reports.
That figure exceeded growth recorded by other members of the Group of Seven industrialized nations but remained far below the 6% growth projection outlined by Hassett.
Economists noted the US has rarely achieved annual GDP growth above 6% in modern history outside major economic rebounds or exceptional periods of expansion.
The last time the US economy approached that level was in 2021, when post-pandemic recovery efforts pushed annual GDP growth to approximately 5.7%.
Before that, the US had not exceeded 6% annual GDP growth since 1984 during a major economic expansion in the Reagan administration era.
To achieve annual growth exceeding 6% this year, analysts noted the economy would likely need to expand at rates approaching roughly 7.5% during the remaining three quarters of 2026.
Hassett argued first-quarter growth figures were partially reduced because businesses imported record amounts of capital goods and equipment tied to factory construction projects and investment expansion.
He credited President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” with helping drive increased capital spending by extending many provisions originally included in Trump’s 2017 tax reform legislation, as reported by the New York Post.
Most mainstream economic forecasts currently project US GDP growth in 2026 between approximately 2.2% and 2.6%, closer to average growth levels seen in recent years.
Critics have argued uncertainty surrounding tariffs, global trade tensions and rising oil prices linked to instability involving the Strait of Hormuz continue creating economic risks for businesses and consumers.
Inflation measured by the Personal Consumption Expenditures price index reached 3.5% for the year ending in March, remaining above the Federal Reserve’s longstanding 2% target.
