Donald Trump has nominated Scott Bessent to lead the US Treasury Department, a post with wide oversight of tax policy, public debt, international finance and sanctions.
The selection ends what has proven to be one of the more protracted decisions for the president-elect as he assembles his team for a second term.
Bessent, a Wall Street financier who once worked for George Soros, was an early backer of Trump’s 2024 bid and brings a relatively conventional resume to the role.
The 62-year-old’s nomination on Friday evening kicked-off a series of cabinet announcements and White House appointments that leaves Trump’s top team almost complete ahead of his return to the presidency in January.
“Scott is widely respected as one of the World’s foremost International Investors and Geopolitical and Economic Strategists,” Trump said in his announcement on Truth Social.
“[He] has long been a strong advocate of the America First Agenda,” he said, adding that Bessent would “support my Policies that will drive US Competitiveness, and stop unfair Trade imbalances.”
On the campaign trail, Bessent told voters that Trump would usher in a “new golden age with de-regulation, low-cost energy, and low taxes”.
(BBC)
