Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent pushed back against growing recession concerns Thursday, saying President Donald Trump's administration wanted a "smooth transition" to an economy with less government spending.

Speaking on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" show Thursday, Bessent said the goal of the Trump administration was to reduce government spending without necessarily sending the economy into a recession. Last week, Bessent rattled financial markets by warning the economy would have a period of "detox" from high government spending as Trump rapidly cuts the federal budget. Trump himself stoked those concerns earlier this week when he said the economy would have a period of "澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:transition."

A reporter asked Bessent whether "detox" was a euphemism for a recession.

"Not at all. Doesn’t have to be because it will depend on how quickly the baton gets handed off," Bessent said. "Our goal is to have a smooth transition."

Last week, several major forecasters increased the odds of a recession in the coming year amid Trump's threats to impose wide-ranging tariffs and mass layoffs of federal workers, which helped fuel general uncertainty about future federal policy. Trump's on-again, off-again 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:tariff threats have 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:stoked uncertainty, 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:undermined confidence among business leaders and consumers, 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:sent stocks tumbling, and 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:raised fears of a possible economic downturn and job losses.