On Friday, President-elect Donald Trump declared that he had requested hedge fund executive and campaign top fundraiser Scott Bessent to become secretary of the Treasury Department.
Bessent will help me usher in a new Golden Age for the United States, Trump stated in a statement about his choice.
We will make sure that no Americans are left behind in the next and greatest economic boom, unlike previous administrations, and Scott will spearhead that effort on my behalf, Trump stated.
According to him, Scott will back my policies that will boost American competitiveness, eliminate unfair trade imbalances, and try to build an economy that prioritizes growth, particularly through our upcoming global energy dominance. We will work together to restore America’s wealth, prosperity, affordability, and—above all—greatness.
Bessent was one of several candidates Trump revealed Friday night, including Dr. Marty Makary for Food and Drug Administration commissioner, Russell Vought to lead the Office of Management and Budget, and others.
Bessent will lead the fiscal policies for an economy that has seen significant inflation in recent years if the Senate confirms him. This is a concern that many voters who supported Trump’s reelection to the White House earlier this month still have.
Implementing any tax cuts that a Republican-controlled Congress may want will be the responsibility of Trump’s nominee. Additionally, the incoming head of the Treasury Department will have to manage ties with international finance ministers who may decide to strike with tariffs of their own in response to Trump’s proposal for aggressive tariffs on imports from nations all over the world.
Bessent created Key Square Capital Management, a hedge fund based in New York, in 2015 and is currently its chief executive and chief investment officer.
Prior to starting the hedge fund, Bessent served as the chief investment officer at Soros Fund Management from 2011 to 2015, an investing company that looks after the assets of the liberal megadonor George Soros and his family. In addition, Bessent taught economic history as an adjunct professor at Yale University, his alma mater, from 2006 to 2010 and served as managing partner of Soros Fund Management’s London office from 1991 to 2000.
After Trump’s September speech at the Economic Club of New York, Bessent was asked in a Fox Business interview what he liked best about Trump’s economic strategy.
I believe it’s the combination of national security and economic policy. “Donald Trump understands that economic policy and national security are now inseparable,” Bessent stated at the time, adding that Trump’s program was a formula for independence, energy, and manufacturing, as well as for reorganizing our finances.
Bessent’s lack of support for the tariff program had alarmed some Trump supporters. He has voiced concerns about breaking WTO regulations and implied that the tariff threats are a maximalist bargaining tactic to obtain stronger free trade agreements.
In an opinion piece published on Fox News late last week, he attempted to allay worries about his views on tariffs. Although he praised tariffs as a tool for policy and as a way to raise money, he did stress their strategic use. This is similar to the language used by President Joe Biden and the Democrats on tariffs, and it is perceived by the protectionist wing as not being sufficiently supportive of Trump’s objective of universal baseline tariffs.
The role of the Cabinet is to direct government fiscal policies that are established by the White House and Congress. The secretary serves as the primary liaison between the executive branch and the Federal Reserve, a historically independent organization that establishes monetary policy, including setting interest rates and guiding overall economic conditions. Under the upcoming Trump administration, which is expected to exert unprecedented political pressure on the central bank, that might be a challenging challenge.
Earlier this week, NBC News reported that Bessent was a leading candidate for the position of Treasury Secretary.
At a rally in August, Trump praised Bessent, describing him as one of the most intelligent individuals on Wall Street.
Trump, on the other hand, has attacked Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, whom he nominated in 2017, both while in and out of office. Trump stated in an October interview with Bloomberg News that the president should have the authority to comment on whether interest rates should rise or fall, but not to order decisions on interest rates.
Powell could theoretically continue to serve as chairman until his tenure ends in May 2026 because he has stated that he would not relinquish the position if Trump asked him to. The Powell-led Fed has lowered interest rates in an effort to prevent excessively high borrowing costs from driving up unemployment, even as inflation has moderated over the past year.
Trump appointed financier Steven Mnuchin to head the Treasury Department during his first term in office. At the start of his term, Mnuchin, who also dabbled in Hollywood as a producer and investor, stumbled over certain ethical regulations and momentarily got into trouble for endorsing a Lego Batman movie that he executive-produced.
However, compared to other high-level Cabinet positions during Trump’s first term, his stay at the Treasury Department was more steady. During his four years in office, Mnuchin helped guide the economy through the start of the pandemic by assisting in the bipartisan approval of the $2 trillion CARES Act in March 2020.
Economists lauded the stimulus plan as abridge that helped the United States weather the greatest economic turbulence from the pandemic and shutdown orders intended to battle it. The stimulus package most famously included cheques distributed directly to households.
Mnuchin told CNBC that he would be content to serve from the outside but was unlikely to take a new Cabinet position following Trump’s reelection. Mnuchin established an investment fund after leaving office, allegedly using money from sovereign wealth funds of a number of Gulf states.
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