Donald Trump has chosen Scott Bessent as US Treasury Secretary, nominating one of his biggest financial backers as the top economic official of his second administration.
Bessent will be responsible for overseeing the president-elect’s most prominent economic pledges, including sweeping tax cuts, while maintaining the stability of the world’s largest economy and its key bond market. as well as the dollar.
The hedge fund manager’s economic philosophy seeks to bridge traditional free-market conservatism with Trump’s populism. He has defended the president-elect’s repeated threats to raise tariffs against accusations that they would hurt relations with US allies and raise consumer prices, saying they are a tool trade negotiations and is a way to increase government revenue.
In a statement on Friday, Trump describes Bessent as “one of the world’s leading international investors, economic and geopolitical strategists” who is “widely respected.”
“He will help me usher in a new golden age for America, as we solidify our position as the world’s leading economy, the epicenter of innovation and entrepreneurialism, the destination of capital, while always, and without question, maintaining that the US dollar is the US dollar.” the world’s reserve currency.”
Trump added that with Bessent at the helm, his administration “will energize the private sector and help limit the unsustainable path of federal debt.”
Bessent will also be responsible for directing the administration’s sanctions policy, including sanctions on Russia over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, as well as the rules that govern Wall Street. His appointment will need to be confirmed by the US Senate, which will be controlled 53-47 by Republicans next year.
Trump on Friday night also selected Russell Vought to once again lead the Office of Management and Budget. “Russ knows exactly how to dismantle the Deep State and end weaponized Government, and he will help us return Self-Governance to the People,” Trump wrote. The president-elect also chose Lori Chavez-DeRemer, a Republican congresswoman from Oregon, to be his labor secretary.
Wall Street bankers from across the political spectrum are digesting news of Bessent’s appointment. They point out that a lot will depend on how much independence he has to manage the economy.
A trader at a major bank said Bessent had experience managing complex financial situations but was concerned that he would be Trump’s “puppet.”
“Bessent is a very skilled investor, he has a good track record over decades but I fear he won’t have much autonomy,” the trader said.
Bessent, 62, is a Wall Street veteran who has been one of Trump’s strongest supporters and closest economic advisers in recent months.
This will be his first government position. He currently runs the hedge fund Key Square Capital Management. Bessent previously worked closely with billionaires George Soros and Stanley Druckenmiller.
Trump also went with one treasury secretary who had Wall Street experience during his first term, when former Goldman Sachs banker Steven Mnuchin held the position.
“No one understands the market better [than Bessent] managing $36 trillion in debt, said Michael Faulkender, a finance professor at the University of Maryland who is a vocal supporter of the president-elect’s economic agenda and has worldwide stature. to navigate the global economic challenges we need to face. Smith School of Business and chief economist at the Trump-affiliated America First Policy Institute.
A top corporate lawyer and longtime Democratic donor said Trump’s decision was encouraging. “[It is a] Reasonable choices will reassure the financial community. The Treasury Department performed well under Mnuchin and I expect Bessent to bring similar stability,” the lawyer said.
Apollo Global Management CEO Marc Rowan and former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh are candidates for the Treasury role, traveling to Mar-a-Lago this week to interview Trump. So did Howard Lutnick, Cantor Fitzgerald’s chief executive and co-chairman of Trump’s transition team. John Paulson, another billionaire hedge fund manager, was also in the race before dropping out.
In a statement Friday, Paulson called Bessent an “excellent choice.”
“He has the market experience and financial acumen to successfully execute President Trump’s economic agenda.”
The nomination of Bessent, who was seen as a pragmatic choice, comes after several controversial appointments, including Fox News host Pete Hegseth for defense and vaccine skeptic- asked Robert F Kennedy Jr to be health secretary. The president-elect also nominated former Florida congressman Matt Gaetz to run the justice department, but Mr withdrew his name to be considered for the role.
Bessent, a Yale graduate who grew up in South Carolina, will take the helm one US economy it is on solid ground. After the worst cost-of-living crisis in decades, inflation has tapered off following a period of high interest rates. The unemployment rate remains at a historic low of 4.1%, helping consumer spending surge.
Many economists have warned that Trump’s protectionist economic plans and his pledge to deport millions of immigrants and cut taxes could cause inflation and slow growth – these criticism that Bessent has vehemently rejected.
in one interview to the Financial Times in October, Bessent cast tariffs as a “maximum” threat that could be reduced in negotiations with trading partners. He also denied that the Trump administration would devalue the USD.
“My general view is that at the end of the day he is a free trader,” Bessent told the FT, referring to Trump. “It’s escalating to de-escalating.”
But Bessent has floated more unorthodox ideas, including taking steps that would compromise the Fed’s long-standing independence.
Speaking with right-wing thinker and Trump ally Steve Bannon recently, he also proposed cutting government spending by $1 trillion over the next decade.
Trump’s transition team also announced a series of health care nominees: Johns Hopkins surgeon Marty Makary, who became famous for opposing vaccine regulations during the pandemic, was chosen to head the Bureau Food and Drug Administration. Fox News contributor Janette Nesheiwat was nominated as surgeon general and former Republican congressman Dave Weldon was chosen to head the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
