Scott Bessent speaks at the National Conservative Conference in Washington, DC, on July 10, 2024. Bessent is Trump’s nominee to become the next Treasury Secretary.

DOMINIC GWINN/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty

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DOMINIC GWINN/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty

Scott Bessent, the little-known Wall Street investor who became one of President-elect Donald Trump’s top economic advisers, has been nominated as the next Treasury secretary in Trump’s new administration.

In a statement, Trump wrote: “Scott has long been a strong supporter of the America First Agenda” and that Bessent “would help me usher in a new Golden Age for the United States as we strengthen our position as the world’s leading economy . , Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Destination for Capital, while the US dollar always and without question maintains the reserve currency of the world.

Bessent, a former protege of Democratic megadonor George Soros, founded and runs the hedge fund Key Square Group. He emerged from relative obscurity to become one of Trump’s favorite advisers on the campaign trail, with Trump praising Bessent as “one of the top analysts on Wall Street” as well as “a nice man.”

Bessent has returned the praise, arguing that Trump’s proposed tax cuts and looser regulations on businesses will boost the US economy.

“Mr Trump has a mandate to reprivatize the American economy through deregulation and tax reform,” Bessent wrote in an op-ed for The Wall Street Journaltouting the stock market’s immediate reaction to Trump’s victory.

“That will be essential to restart America’s growth engine, reduce inflationary pressures and address the debt burden resulting from four years of reckless spending,” he added.

Bessent sparked controversy with comments from the Fed

Bessent also caused a stir in policy circles this fall by floating the idea of ​​replacing Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell with a “shadow chairman,” who could undermine Powell’s position until the end of his term in 2026.

The central bank is supposed to be independent and insulated from political pressure, but Trump has repeatedly criticized Powell – whom he appointed – for not complying with his wishes.

Powell said after the election that he would not resign if Trump asked, and Bessent has decided that the “shadow chair” idea is not worth pursuing. The Wall Street Journal recently reported.

End with Trump’s job – and a Soros protégé

Bessent has been friends with newly elected Vice President JD Vance and members of the Trump family for years.

But he spent years working for Soros, a billionaire investor firmly on the other side of the political aisle, eventually becoming Chief Investment Officer of Soros Fund Management. (When Bessent left to found Key Square in 2015, Soros invested $2 billion with his former employee.)

If confirmed by the Senate, Bessent will become one of the first openly gay Senate-confirmed Cabinet officials (after President Biden’s Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg). Bessent and his husband, former New York City prosecutor John Freeman, have two children and live primarily in Charleston, SC

Tariffs and taxes could mark Bessent’s tenure

As Treasury Secretary, Bessent will be responsible for implementing Trump’s proposed economic policies, including tax cuts and sweeping tariffs.

During his first administration, Trump overhauled the tax code in 2017, with changes that will largely expire next year — meaning his second administration will have a chance to reshape tax policy in the coming years.

Trump’s promises to raise tariffs and cut taxes seemed to resonate with voters in this election, despite the current healthy state of the U.S. economy: inflation is declining, wages are rising, unemployment remains historically low, and interest rates decreases.

The next Treasury secretary will need to implement Trump’s proposals without weakening the underlying fundamentals, but many economists have warned that Trump’s economic proposals could reignite inflation and increase the federal budget deficit.