A White House economic adviser devised a head-scratching model that shows coronavirus deaths will hit 0 in just 10 days

• The White House is relying on a model prepared by a controversial White House economic advisor that shows coronavirus deaths dropping to zero by May 15 to help guide their decision-making.
• Critics argued that Kevin Hassett had little background in epidemiology and shouldn't be allowed to weigh in public health decisionmaking.
• "Hassett remains... a pillar of the modern conservative establishment, and Trump called on him to second-guess experts in epidemiology, a field in which he has no background," economist Paul Krugman wrote in a New York Times op-ed.
• Coronavirus deaths are still mounting in the US.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The White House is reportedly relying on a "cubic model" prepared by controversial White House economic advisor Kevin Hassett that shows coronavirus deaths plunging to zero by May 15 — only 10 days away — to help guide their economic decision-making during the pandemic.

The Washington Post cited sources familiar with the model who it said it demonstrated the rate of deaths dropping through the beginning of May until reaching zero.

The "cubic model" from Hassett clashes with the assessment of public health experts who say the virus will continue infecting people and swell the US death toll for the foreseeable future.

Another model prepared by the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation is also being used by the White House. It recently revised its death toll upward and now predicts 135,000 deaths by August 1.

The Trump administration is privately predicting the daily coronavirus death toll will double in the next month, Business Insider's Eliza Relman reported. Some states not initially ravaged by the outbreak have begun reopening their economies, even as infections mount.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Critics argued that an economist with an unreliable track record on issues within his own realm of expertise shouldn't be permitted to wade into public health matters.

Paul Krugman, a Nobel Prize-winning economist and New York Times contributor, pointed out Hassett had made several predictions that never materialized.

Hassett, once the former Chair of the Council of Economic Advisors for the Trump administration, was in favor of the 2017 tax cuts and he argued it ramped up business investment in a Wall Street Journal op-ed in December. It didn't, per a Business Insider analysis of the law late last year.

"Hassett remains... a pillar of the modern conservative establishment, and Trump called on him to second-guess experts in epidemiology, a field in which he has no background," Krugman wrote in a New York Times op-ed that was published on Tuesday.

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