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“Scott has long been a strong advocate of the America First Agenda,” Trump said in a statement Friday. “On the eve of our Great Country’s 250th Anniversary, he will help me usher in a new Golden Age for the United States, as we fortify our position as the World’s leading Economy.”
Bessent, 62, emerged as the pick after an extended search for a Treasury chief that saw Trump consider multiple candidates — and Wall Street executives and business leaders vie to influence the president-elect’s decision.
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Allies believed that Trump sought a candidate that would be favored both by Wall Street as well as an electoral base eager for him to implement sweeping tariffs, embrace cryptocurrencies and crack down on undocumented migration.
Bessent beat out other prominent contenders including Apollo Global Management Inc. executive Marc Rowan, former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh and Tennessee Senator Bill Hagerty as well as Trump transition co-chair Howard Lutnick, who was named to lead the Commerce Department.
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If confirmed by the US Senate, Bessent would be the first openly gay Treasury chief, and one of the wealthiest in modern times. Bessent has said that he has always wanted to serve his country, but in the 1980s his sexuality prevented him from going to the US Naval Academy, and after graduating from Yale University, from joining the State Department.
As the nation’s highest ranking economic policymaker, Bessent will have to wade through political thickets in Washington, spearhead international economic diplomacy and bring Wall Street know-how to crisis situations. He will also be closely watched by investors and financial institutions, who are looking for predictability and stability.
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He has been a proponent of realigning US currency policy, but has stopped short of supporting an overt strategy of depreciating the dollar. During Trump’s first term, the then-president called out dollar appreciation for being harmful to US manufacturers and even considered government intervention to manage the greenback’s value.
Bessent has acknowledged that while a weaker dollar would be good for some parts of the economy, some of Trump’s proposals would drive up its value.
He has criticized President Joe Biden’s administration for its management of federal debt financing, and has talked about expanding its “friendshoring” policy to create a tiered system among trade partners.
At Treasury, Bessent is expected to advise Trump on candidates to chair the Federal Reserve when that job opens up in May 2026. Earlier this year, he talked about the idea of nominating a new Fed chair well in advance of the expiration of current chair Jerome Powell’s term. Financial markets would turn their attention to that shadow Fed chair instead of Powell, Bessent has said.
He has said the Fed was too slow to respond to rising inflation in 2021, and criticized the US central bank for its large interest-rate cut in September.
Bessent spent part of his career managing money for billionaire George Soros. He lived in London and was part of the team, under Stan Druckenmiller, that made $1 billion in 1992 shorting the pound — a wager that helped force the currency out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism, and made Soros famous as the man who broke the Bank of England.
He would be the second Treasury secretary, after Steven Mnuchin, who has worked for groups with close ties to Soros.
Soros’ family office made about $10 billion in profit under Bessent as investment chief, or about 13% annualized. Since then, he’s run Key Square, which started with a $2 billion investment from Soros — funds he later returned as other investors came in.
“I think he’ll be outstanding,” said Druckenmiller. “Having worked for me and George for all those years, he’s been exposed to everything a Treasury secretary has to deal with. He has a deep knowledge of markets and he’s also an intellectual who has the chops to work with academic policymakers. It’s a rare combination.”
