Trump's team prepares to announce candidate for position of US Treasury secretary - Bloomberg

According to people familiar with the situation, Donald Trump's transition team is preparing to announce that he has selected Scott Bessent, who runs macro hedge fund Key Square Group, as the next US Treasury secretary.

Reports indicate that Trump had considered several candidates, including Marc Rowan, CEO of Apollo Global Management Inc., former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh, and Tennessee Senator Bill Hagerty. Additionally, another contender, transition co-chair Howard Lutnick, was removed from the race when Trump appointed him head of the Department of Commerce.

Bloomberg reports that until the final announcement is made, Trump could still choose a different candidate.

What is Scott Bessent known for

The 62-year-old Bessent was a key economic advisor to Trump during the Republican's campaign, promoting his agenda and drafting political speeches.

If his nomination is confirmed by the Senate, Bessent will assume the role of the country's top economic policymaker and lead Trump's effort to extend many of his 2017 tax cuts after they expire next year.

Bessent has also been a proponent of expanding US monetary policy, though he refrained from supporting an open strategy to devalue the dollar.

During his first term as president, Trump believed that a strong dollar harmed American manufacturers and even considered government intervention to manage its exchange rate.

Bessent noted that a weaker dollar could benefit certain sectors of the economy. However, in his view, some of Trump's initiatives would lead to the dollar strengthening.

Recently, in comments to the WSJ, Bessent stated that Trump's election led to the largest one-day increase in the US dollar in the past two years and the third largest in the past decade.

"This is a vote of confidence in US leadership internationally and in the dollar as the world’s reserve currency," he said.

Bloomberg also reports that Bestant has criticized President Joe Biden's administration for its management of federal debt financing and has spoken in favor of expanding the friendshoring policy to create a multi-layered system among trading partners.

It was reported yesterday that Trump has decided to nominate former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi to head the Department of Justice. Before this, Trump’s nominee for Attorney General, Matt Gaetz, withdrew from consideration.