Michael Faulkender, former deputy secretary of the US Treasury Department, says it’s too early to doubt the president Donald Trump’s record in the field of economics.
“I think we need to recognize how well it has laid the groundwork for next year,” Faulkender said of the administration’s record during 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 Democrats’ criticism that a Republican government trifecta has done little to drive down prices.
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Michael Faulkender, then Deputy Treasury Secretary, during a Bloomberg Television interview outside the White House in Washington, April 11, 2025. (Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Among other economy-related executive orders, President Donald Trump pushed through his signature Big Beautiful Bill Act – a piece of legislation that cut taxes, created new forms of tax relief, and expanded tax policies developed in the first Trump administration.
“Once that was reintroduced at the beginning of this administration, you saw the benefits of that filtering down into the economy,” Faulkender said.
The administration also reversed many of the Biden administration’s energy-related executive orders that limited oil production on federal lands.
“Oil currently costs $57 per barrel. That has not yet fully integrated into the economy,” Faulkender argued. “And if you’re low on energy and have large amounts of it available, couple that with the big tax refunds 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)
According to data from the New York Mercantile Exchange, oil prices have fallen significantly since the start of the administration – down almost 28% from the January 2025 high of $78.70 per barrel.
Inflation Interest rates fluctuated for most of the year, sidestepping the Federal Reserve’s 2% target.
Most recently, the US reported 2.7% inflation in November, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The lowest inflation rate of the year was 2.3% in April. Inflation rose to a peak of 3% in September.
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A customer shops at a Safeway store in Mill Valley, California on June 11, 2024. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Faulkender said the rollout of the second administration’s energy and economic measures closely mirrors the efforts of Trump’s first term.
“If you go back to the economic numbers of the first administration, you see that the combination of low energy prices, deregulation and growth-enhancing tax reforms all form the basis for generating a strong, inflation-free economy,” Faulkender said.
Faulkender was the No. 2 official at the Treasury Department under the second Trump administration until he resigned in August. It is unclear why he left.
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Before his appointment in March, Faulkender briefly served as acting IRS commissioner and helped the administration’s transition team as a senior adviser after the 2024 elections.
