Trump’s cabinet picks Burgum, Zeldin, Bessent to face Senate confirmation hearings

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In November, President-elect Trump nominated Scott Bessent to serve as Treasury Secretary.

“I am very pleased to nominate Scott Bessent to serve as the 79th Secretary of the Treasury Department of the United States,” he said. “Scott is widely respected as one of the world’s leading international investors and geopolitical and economic strategists. Scott’s story is the American Dream.”

Trump said Bessent will help bring about the “Golden Age of America” ​​and said he will focus on improvement of the economy and preserve the dollar.

“Scott has long been a strong advocate of the America First Agenda. 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 strengthen our position as the world’s leading economy, Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurialism, Destination for Capital, while always and without question maintaining the US dollar as the world’s reserve currency,” he said. “Unlike previous administrations, we will ensure that no American is left behind in the next and greatest economic boom, and Scott will lead that effort for me and the great people of America.”

Bessent, the one founder and managing director of the global macro investment firm Key Square Group, was a key economic policy advisor and fundraiser for the Trump campaign.

He has championed economic policies such as lower taxes, spending restraint and deregulation that have long been at the core of the Republican Party platform, and he has also supported Trump’s use of tariffs in trade negotiations.

At an event hosted by the Manhattan Institute earlier this year, Bessent suggested that Trump pursue a three-point plan to target 3% economic growth, reduce the deficit to 3% of US gross domestic product and increase domestic energy production by 3 million cubic meters. barrels of oil per day.

He has also supported Trump’s plan to reduce regulation of cryptocurrencies and digital assets. Bessent has also argued that mass deportations of illegal immigrants would be cheaper than the status quo given the costs of crime and fentanyl deaths.

Bessent previously taught at Yale University. He worked at Soros Fund Management (SFM) from 1991 to 2005, starting as a partner and eventually managing the firm’s London office. After starting his own venture and working at another firm, he returned to SFM from 2011 to 2015 as Chief Investment Officer before leaving to found his investment firm, Key Square Group.

Read more about Scott Bessent from Eric Revell, Sarah Rumpf-Whitten and Louis Casiano.