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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent expressed confidence Wednesday that the U.S. economy can get back on the path to 3% growth as the Iran war nears conclusion.<\/p>\n
“We can have something with a three in front of it this year,” Bessent said in a live interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box<\/a>.” “The underlying economy has been strong.”<\/p>\n Growth, however, has been slow over the past two quarters as the domestic economy has battled a number of factors including a resurgence in inflation, what had been a moderating labor market and the impact of President Donald Trump<\/a>‘s tariffs.<\/p>\n Gross domestic product rose at a 1.6% annualized rate in the first quarter after rising just 0.5% in the fourth quarter of 2025, concluding a year of 2.1% growth.<\/p>\n However, Bessent reiterated that his “3-3-3” plan is still in reach \u2014 3% growth, a 3% deficit-to-GDP rate and a 3 million barrels per day increase in domestic oil production. He estimated that the economy was running at about a 4% growth rate in February, just prior to the U.S. and Israel launching their attack on Iran.<\/p>\n On the deficit goal, he said: “I think by the end of the president’s term we can be at something that looks like it could have a three in front of it. What’s important about that, that’s when you start paying down overall debt as a percent of the economy.”<\/p>\n The deficit-to-GDP ratio was at 5.8% to end 2025 after holding above 6% in 2023 and 2024 \u2014 uncommonly high rates for peacetime as heavy fiscal spending during the Covid pandemic spilled over into subsequent years.<\/p>\n The budget shortfall stands at $1.25 trillion through the first eight months of fiscal 2026, 9% lower than the prior year. A main contributor has been high financing costs, which account for the biggest budget outlay after Social Security.<\/p>\n Trump has repeatedly pushed for the Federal Reserve to lower benchmark interest rates as a way to ease the debt burden. However, the Fed has resisted additional rate cuts during the inflation surge this year.<\/p>\n Bessent said Trump has “every confidence” that new Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh<\/a> will guide policy appropriately.<\/p>\n