▶Secretary Besant consistently frames tariffs as a versatile and effective tool for achieving multiple strategic objectives, including national security, compelling foreign cooperation on issues like fentanyl, and negotiating trade deals.Feb 2026

▶A core tenet of the economic strategy is stimulating growth through significant tax cuts for both individuals (tips, overtime, social security) and corporations (permanent equipment expensing), coupled with deregulation for smaller banks.

▶There is a strong emphasis on reducing U.S. dependency on foreign nations for critical goods, with a stated policy of identifying and reshoring strategic industries like pharmaceuticals and semiconductors.

▶The administration's fiscal policy aims to reduce the budget deficit as a percentage of GDP, viewing this as a key goal to be achieved by the end of the presidential term.Feb 2026

▶Besant asserts that tariffs are disinflationary, citing a San Francisco Fed study, which directly challenges the more common economic viewpoint that tariffs tend to increase costs for consumers and businesses.Feb 2026

▶There is a potential tension between the stated goal of reducing the budget deficit to below 3% of GDP and the simultaneous implementation of broad tax cuts that would reduce government revenue.Feb 2026

▶The policy of loosening regulations for small and community banks to boost lending could be debated against the financial stability concerns that prompted the post-2008 regulatory framework, which saw half of these banks disappear.Feb 2026

▶The administration's focus on replacing the Federal Reserve Chair and criticism of its past policies like Quantitative Easing signals a potential conflict with the central bank's traditional independence.Feb 2026