Kevin Hassett, the White House director of the National Economic Council, has shifted from a longtime conservative economist who championed free trade and immigration to a vocal defender of President Trump’s trade and immigration stances. The evolution has put Mr. Hassett near the top of Mr. Trump’s shortlist

Kevin Hassett, director of the White House National Economic Council and a onetime advocate of free trade and pro-immigration policies, has become a prominent contender to be President Trump’s pick to lead the Federal Reserve. Long known as a conservative economist who advised John McCain, George W. Bush and