Former Treasury official Faulkender says it’s too early to question Trump’s economic record
Fox News host Brian Kilmeade discusses the impact of President Trump’s economic policies ahead of the New Year’s ‘One Nation.’
Michael Faulkender, former deputy secretary of the US Treasury Department, believes it is too early to question President Donald Trump’s economic record.
“I think we should be aware of how well it set the stage for next year,” Faulkender said of the administration’s record in an appearance on Fox Business’ “Kudlow” on New Year’s Eve.
With 2025 in the rearview mirror, Faulkender believes the changes the administration made in its first year will counter criticism from Democrats that the Republican trifecta is doing nothing to lower prices.
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Michael Faulkender, then deputy secretary of the Treasury, during a Bloomberg Television interview outside the White House in Washington, April 11, 2025. (Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Among other executive orders related to the economy, President Donald Trump continued his signing of the Big Beautiful Bill Act – a piece of legislation that cuts taxes, creates new types of tax relief and expanded tax policies developed in the first Trump administration.
When that was reintroduced at the beginning of this administration, he saw the benefits of that going into the economy,” said Faulkender.
The administration also rescinded several energy-related orders from the Biden administration that limited oil production on federal land.
“Oil is at $57 a barrel today. That hasn’t fully fed into the economy,” Faulkender said. “And if you have low energy and a lot of energy available to you, couple that with big tax returns coming in February and March. And that success that we saw in the second and third quarters of this year will continue into next year.”
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President Donald Trump speaks to reporters after signing an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, December 18, 2025. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Oil prices have fallen sharply since the beginning of the administration, according to data from the New York Mercantile Exchange – down about 28% from its 2025 peak in January of $78.70 a barrel.
Inflation has been volatile for most of the year, avoiding the Federal Reserve’s 2% target.
Most recently, the US reported inflation at 2.7% in November, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The lowest inflation rate of the year reached 2.3% in April. Inflation rose to 3% in September.
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A customer shops at a Safeway store on June 11, 2024, in Mill Valley, Calif. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Faulkender said the release of the second administration’s actions on energy and the economy mirrored the efforts of Trump’s first term in office.
“If you go back to the economic record of the first administration, you saw that the combination of low energy prices, deregulation, tax reform that promotes growth, all are the basis for producing a strong economy without the accompanying inflation,” said Faulkender.
Faulkender served as the No. 1 officer. It is not clear why he left.
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Before his appointment in March, Faulkender served briefly as acting IRS commissioner and assisted the administration’s transition team as a senior adviser after the 2024 election.
