Treasury secretary says country not at risk of a recession: 'I am very confident about 2026'

United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Sunday that the U.S. is not at risk of a recession. 

"No. I am very confident about 2026. Because what we are going to see is the president's done peace deals, tax deals, and trade deals, the One Big Beautiful Bill. And, you know, to go back to affordability, affordability has two components. So it's price of goods and real income. So under the One Big Beautiful Bill, especially for working Americans, no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, no tax on Social Security," he said on NBC's Meet the Press.

"All the deductibility on loans for American cars, that's all kicking in. Americans have not changed their withholding. So we are going to see substantial refunds to working families in the first quarter of 2026. Americans will change their withholding. And they will get an increase in real income. The trade deals that we've done," he added.

Bessent said Boeing is expanding their Dreamliner plant in Charleston, South Carolina, which will create about 1,000 new jobs. 

"I think we're going to see these plant openings every week. I am very, very optimistic on 2026. We have set the table for a very strong non-inflationary growth economy," he said.