Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday that the Federal Reserve needs to do its part to boost investment in the economy and that interest rates should be substantially lower.

“The White House can only do so much; at a certain point, the Federal Reserve must also do its part to spur investment,” Bessent said in remarks at the Economic Club of Minnesota. “I think that we are still substantially above the neutral rate, and I think that we should not be in restrictionary mode.”

Bessent noted that Fed needs to have “merely an open mind” and pointed to former Fed Chair Alan Greenspan, who he said resisted premature rate hikes during the technology boom of the 1990s.

Bessent said most economic models would show that the right range for interest rates now is between 2.50% and 3.25% but that he does not have a specific target rate. Right now rates sit in a range of 3.5% to 3.75%.

Read more: How a Fed rate cut affects your bank accounts, loans, credit cards, and investments

When it comes to the race for the next Fed chair, Bessent said that one out of the four candidates — BlackRock fixed income head Rick Rieder — has yet to be interviewed. Bessent said that the president could announce his choice either right before or after he heads to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 21.

The other finalists for Fed chair include former Fed governor Kevin Warsh, National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett, and Fed governor Chris Waller.

Bessent shrugged off any potential loss of government revenue if the Supreme Court were to rule that Trump’s issuance of tariffs under emergency economic powers is illegal. He pointed to other authorities the administration could use to issue tariffs including under sections 301, 232, and 122.

“What is not in doubt is our ability to continue collecting tariffs at roughly the same level in terms of overall revenues,” Bessent said. “What is in doubt and, and it's a real shame for the American people, [would be if] the president loses flexibility to use tariffs both for national security, for negotiating leverage.”

Bessent also offered clarification on President Trump’s announcement that he wants to ban institutional investors from buying up more single-family homes, a policy that has rare bipartisan support in Congress and broad popular appeal. Bessent said that the policy would not be retroactive and there would be no forced sales. Only future sales would be banned.

“We're pushing out the marginal buyer, and [keeping] the traditional mom-and-pop owners in. We want to keep families who rent out to their other family members,” Bessent said.

He said the government will decide what the correct level is that would constitute an “institutional investor,” positing that it could be investors that buy up 12 homes or substantially more. The largest investors own around 80,000 homes, but such institutions make up only a tiny fraction of the US housing market. They own around 3.4% of all rental homes, and landlords with 100 or more homes make up less than 1% of all purchases, according to housing consultancy John Burns Research and Consulting.

Separately, Bessent said tax season will begin early this year — on Jan. 26 — to get refunds into the hands of Americans faster, which he says will act as a major tailwind for economic growth this year.

“After this date, most of the benefits of the President’s bill will begin to materialize, presenting a major tailwind for our economy in 2026,” he said. “With capital flowing, productivity surging, and prices easing, the stage is set for robust, non-inflationary growth in 2026. The Trump economy is back—and its best days are still ahead.”

Jennifer Schonberger covers the Federal Reserve, Congress, the White House, the Treasury, the SEC, the economy, cryptocurrencies, and the intersection of Washington policy with finance. Follow her on X @Jenniferisms and on Instagram.

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