President-elect Donald Trump announced Friday evening that investor Scott Bessent will be his nominee for Treasury secretary, picking a campaign trail partner and early frontrunner for the job after a long and contentious process.
Trump called him “one of the World’s foremost International Investors” in his announcement, adding that he is “a strong advocate of the America First agenda.”
Bessent beat out a series of other candidates from former Federal Reserve governor Kevin Warsh to Apollo Global Management (APO) CEO Marc Rowan to cap a drawn-out process that saw candidates’ chances seem to rise and fall by the day. (Disclosure: Yahoo Finance is owned by Apollo Global Management).
Assuming he is indeed nominated and then confirmed, Bessent will face the difficult challenge in the months ahead of simultaneously working to calm US and global markets while also being tasked with selling many of the president-elect’s economic plans.
The issue is that many of those ideas remain unpopular in business world corners — specifically renewed tariffs and, perhaps, increased deficit spending.
In a live Yahoo Finance video appearance earlier on Friday, Hoover Institution fellow Lanhee Chen offered that Trump’s nominee would need to be well-qualified, aligned with his economic agenda, and also serve as “a calming force to markets.”
Then Republican candidate Donald Trump listens as investor Scott Bessent speaks on the economy during a stop in Asheville, N.C. in August. (AP Photo/Matt Kelley)
A well-known nominee from the investing world
From the beginning of the process, Bessent was often viewed as the front-runner for the post, but saw his fortunes rise and fall. The former Soros Fund Management investing chief met with Trump multiple times in the weeks following the election after being a regular campaign trail partner of the president-elect.
The race was anything but drama-free, with betting markets have yo-yoing in recent days and Polymarket odds putting three different candidates as the favorite at various points.
Trump ended up settling on the figure who often appeared with him on the campaign trail, citing Bessent’s expertise before rally crowds, specifically the notion that stocks were on the rise because of the prospects of a Trump victory.
Trump described Bessent’s mission Friday as one to help “usher in a new Golden Era for the United States,” including the stopping of trade imbalances.
Bessent is currently the CEO of Key Square Capital Management and made a notably public case for the job since Trump’s victory.
At various points in recent weeks, Bessent was live on the set of Fox and Friends offering “any way I can help,” and appearing with Trump ally Steve Bannon to discuss his vision for the US economy.
He also published op-eds in the Wall Street Journal and on FoxNews.com to discuss issues close to the president-elect.
Bessent has also donated more than $3.1 million to Trump and other Republicans during the recent election season, according to government records.
Evercore ISI in a note to clients this week called Bessent “the investor favorite given his knowledge of macro and markets and his credibility with the bond market.”
A perch of relative stability in Trump’s orbit
During Trump’s first term, the Treasury secretary role was a rare area of relative stability and persistent influence throughout the term, with Steven Mnuchin holding the post for Trump’s entire term even as turnover at the White House and other Cabinet agencies was rampant.
Mnuchin, who was succeeded by current Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, also found himself at the center of an array of issues, notably the negotiations that led to the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
Many provisions of that law expire at the end of 2025, leaving Bessent to likely assume a central role on the same issue.