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Donald Trump has picked Scott Bessent to be his US Treasury secretary, nominating one of his biggest financial backers as the top economic official of his second administration, according to five people familiar with the matter.
Bessent will be tasked with overseeing the president-elect’s most prominent economic pledges, including sweeping tax cuts, while maintaining the stability of the world’s largest economy, its most important bond market as well as the US dollar.
The hedge fund manager’s economic philosophy seeks to bridge traditional free-market conservatism with Trump’s populism. He has defended Trump’s repeated threat of raising tariffs against accusations that they would upend relations with US allies and raise consumer prices, saying they are a trade negotiating tool and a way to raise government revenue.
Bessent will also be responsible for steering the administration’s sanctions policy, including 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.
The 62-year-old Wall Street veteran has been among Trump’s most vocal advocates and closest economic advisers in recent months. The president-elect, meanwhile, has said Bessent is a “nice-looking guy” and “one of the most brilliant men on Wall Street”.
It will be the first government position for Bessent, who currently runs the hedge fund Key Square Capital Management. He previously worked closely with billionaires George Soros and Stanley Druckenmiller.
Trump also had a preference for having a Treasury secretary with Wall Street experience during his first term, picking former Goldman Sachs banker Steven Mnuchin for the post.
Private equity boss Marc Rowan was a candidate for the role. So was Howard Lutnick, Cantor Fitzgerald’s chief executive, who is also co-chair of the Trump transition team, was another contender for the role. John Paulson, another billionaire hedge fund manager, was also in the running before dropping out.
Bessent’s nomination is among the most important of Trump’s cabinet picks so far and follows a string of controversial appointments, including Florida congressman Matt Gaetz to run the justice department, Fox News host Pete Hegseth for defence and vaccine-sceptic Robert F Kennedy Jr as health secretary.
Bessent, a Yale University graduate who grew up in rural South Carolina, will take the helm of a US economy that is on solid footing. After the worst cost of living crisis in decades, inflation has steadily declined following a period of high interest rates. Unemployment remains historically low at 4.1 per cent, keeping consumer spending strong.
Many economists have warned that Trump’s protectionist economic plans, and his pledge to deport millions of immigrants and slash taxes, could reignite inflation and dent growth — criticism that Bessent has strongly rejected.
In an interview with the Financial Times in October, Bessent framed tariffs as a “maximalist” threat that could be pared back during talks with trading partners. He also denied that the Trump administration would devalue the US dollar.
“My general view is that at the end of the day, he’s a free trader,” Bessent told the FT, referring to Trump. “It’s escalate to de-escalate.”
But Bessent has floated more unorthodox ideas, including taking steps that would infringe on the long-standing independence of the Federal Reserve.
Speaking to rightwing ideologue and Trump ally Steve Bannon recently, he also floated cutting government spending by $1tn over the next decade.