Treasury nominee tells his confirmation hearing that Trump could usher in an ‘economic golden age’

WASHINGTON (AP) — US Treasury nominee Scott Bessent told his confirmation hearing Thursday that President-elect Donald Trump has an opportunity to usher in “a new economic golden age”.

In testimony, Bessent said the U.S. must secure vulnerable supply chains, levy sanctions to address national security concerns “and critically, we must ensure that the U.S. dollar remains the world’s reserve currency.”

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill questioned Bessent’s stance on taxes, tariffs, trade and other issues during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Finance Committee.

Trump’s pick for secretary of the Treasury is a South Carolina billionaire who, before becoming a Trump donor and adviser, donated to various Democratic causes in the early 2000s, most notably Al Gore’s presidential run.

He also worked for George Soros, a big supporter of the Democrats.

Bessent was one of several people Trump considered for the position. Trump took his time before settling down on Bessent as his nominee. He also mused about billionaire investor John Paulson and Howard Lutnick, who Trump chose as his nominee for commerce secretary.

The Minister of Finance is responsible for acting as the president’s fiscal advisor and managing the public debt. He would also be a member of the President’s National Economic Council.

If confirmed, Bessent would oversee massive agencies within the Treasury Department, including the Internal Revenue Service. The IRS received a massive boost in funding from the Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act, although that money has been under constant threat of being cut.

Trump expects him to help reset the global trade order, enabling trillions of dollars in tax cuts, make sure inflation remains in checkmanage a massive national debt and still keep financial markets safe.

“Productive investments that grow the economy must be prioritized over wasteful spending that drives inflation,” Bessent testified.

Senators were expected to question the money manager for hours about his views on cryptocurrency, Trump-era tax cuts and potential conflicts of interest.

Late. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., a member of the Finance Committee, sent Bessent more than 100 written questions ahead of time, questioned him on issues such as agency independence, housing, Treasury workforce issues and financial stability oversight.

In addition, Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee are circulating a document alleging that Bessent avoided paying about $1 million in taxes related to his hedge fund. He will be asked about this during his hearing.

Bessent has supported expanding provisions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which Trump signed in his first year in office. Estimates from various economic analyzes of the cost of the various tax cuts range from nearly $6 trillion to $10 trillion over 10 years.

He calls for spending cuts and shifts in existing taxes to offset the costs that extending the tax cuts would add to the federal deficit.