President-elect Donald J. Trump is reportedly naming Scott Bessent as his Secretary of the Treasury, a position pivotal in government decisions regarding the U.S. economy and fiscal policy. During Trump’s first presidential administration, Steven Terner Mnuchin served in the role for all four years, assisting President Trump in building one of the most robust American economies in history.
Bessent, 61, was an early Trump backer, donating a million dollars to his 2016 presidential campaign. He has helped raise nearly $60 million for Trump since. Bessent, a macro fund manager, was an integral figure in monetary markets in the 1990s and early 2000s.
The former adjunct professor at Yale University is known for being friendly with Vice President-elect J.D. Vance and has been called “one of the most brilliant men on Wall Street” by Trump. Bessent, meanwhile, says he was drawn to back Trump again in 2024 after the Democrats launched their unprecedented lawfare campaign against the former Republican president.
In recent weeks, Bessent has argued that the Trump White House’s America First agenda will continue to strengthen the dollar and lead to the re-shoring of American jobs from overseas. During the 2024 campaign, the billionaire macro fund manager argued the economic rally fueled by a surging stock market was due in large part to investor anticipation of a second Trump term in office.