President-elect Donald Trump on Friday announced he had asked Scott Bessent, a hedge fund executive and top fundraiser to his campaign, to serve as secretary of the Treasury Department.
In a statement regarding his pick, Trump said that Bessent “will help me usher in a new Golden Age for the United States.”
“Unlike in past Administrations, we will ensure than no Americans will be left behind in the next and Greatest Economic Boom, and Scott will lead that effort for me,” Trump said.
“Scott will support my Policies that will drive U.S. Competitiveness, and stop unfair Trade imbalances, work to create an Economy that places Growth at the forefront, especially through our coming World Energy Dominance,” he added. “Together, we will Make America Rich Again, Prosperous Again, Affordable Again, and most importantly, Great Again!”
Bessent was one of a slew of picks announced by Trump on Friday night alongside Russell Vought to head up the Office of Management and Budget, Dr. Marty Makary for commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration and others.
If confirmed by the Senate, Bessent will helm the fiscal policies for an economy that weathered high inflation in recent years, an issue that remained top of mind for many voters who helped send Trump back to the White House in the election earlier this month.
Trump’s pick will be tasked with implementing any tax cuts that a Republican-controlled Congress may pursue. And with Trump proposing aggressive tariffs on imports from countries spanning the globe, the new Treasury Department chief will have to manage relationships with global finance ministers who may choose to retaliate with tariffs of their own.
Bessent currently serves as chief executive and chief investment officer at the New York-based hedge fund Key Square Capital Management, which he founded in 2015.
Before establishing the hedge fund, Bessent was the top investment officer for Soros Fund Management, an investment firm that manages assets for billionaire and liberal megadonor George Soros’ family and their foundations, from 2011 to 2015. Bessent also worked as managing partner of Soros Fund Management’s London office from 1991 to 2000 and taught economic history as an adjunct professor at his alma mater, Yale University, from 2006 to 2010.
During a Fox Business interview after Trump spoke at at the Economic Club of New York in September, Bessent was asked what he liked most about Trump’s economic plan.
“I think it’s the melding of economic policy with national security. Economic policy and national security are now inseparable, and Donald Trump understands that,” Bessent said at the time, adding that Trump’s vision was “a formula for independence and energy and manufacturing, for getting our finances in order.”
Some Trump allies had worried that Bessent was insufficiently supportive of the tariff agenda. He suggested the tariff threats are a “maximalist” negotiating strategy to secure better free trade deals, and he has expressed concern about flouting World Trade Organization rules.
He tried to address concerns about his beliefs on tariffs with an op-ed in Fox News late last week. He celebrated tariffs as a policy tool and as a revenue raiser, but he did emphasize using them “strategically” — the same language that President Joe Biden and the Democrats have used on tariffs, and seen by the protectionist wing as not sufficiently supportive of Trump’s goal of universal baseline tariffs.
The Cabinet-level job is to steer federal fiscal policies set by Congress and the White House. The secretary is also the executive branch’s top go-between with the Federal Reserve, a traditionally autonomous institution that sets monetary policies, such as determining interest rates and steering economic conditions at a broader level. That could be a delicate task in the incoming Trump administration, which is likely to put unprecedented political pressure on the central bank.
NBC News reported earlier this week that Bessent was a top contender for treasury secretary.
Trump has spoken in glowing terms about Bessent, calling him “one of the most brilliant men on Wall Street” at a rally in August.
During his time in and out of office, Trump, by contrast, has blasted Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, whom he nominated in 2017. In an October interview with Bloomberg News, Trump said the president should not be allowed to order interest rate decisions but should be able to “put in comments as to whether the interest rates should go up or down.”
Powell has said he would not yield the position if Trump asked him to resign, meaning he could in theory remain chairman until his term expires in May 2026. With inflation moderating over the past year, the Powell-led Fed has cut interest rates as part of a bid to stop high borrowing costs from unduly raising unemployment.
In Trump’s first term, he tapped banker Steven Mnuchin to lead the Treasury Department. Mnuchin, who also dabbled in Hollywood as a financier and producer, fumbled over some ethics rules at the beginning of his term, landing himself briefly in hot water for plugging a “Lego Batman” movie that he executive-produced.
But his tenure at the Treasury Department was more stable than those of other high-level Cabinet posts in Trump’s first term. Mnuchin remained in the role for all four years, helping steer the economy through the onset of the pandemic by helping to push the $2 trillion CARES Act toward bipartisan passage in March 2020.
The stimulus package, which most memorably included checks sent directly to households, was hailed by economists as a bridge that helped carry the U.S. over the worst economic turbulence from the pandemic and shutdown orders meant to combat it.
After Trump’s re-election, Mnuchin told CNBC he was unlikely to accept a new Cabinet role but would “be happy to serve from the outside.” Since leaving office, Mnuchin launched an investment fund that reportedly sourced its capital from sovereign wealth funds in several Gulf states.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
