Trump Treasury contenders Howard Lutnick and Scott Bessent in knife fight for the job: report
Two top contenders to serve as Donald Trump’s Treasury secretary are engaged in what is being reported as a “knife fight” — and the president-elect is apparently widening his list of choices after he is said to have soured on one of them, according to reports.Howard Lutnick, the billionaire CEO of Wall Street giant Cantor Fitzgerald, is said to be the “primary aggressor” in his battle with former George Soros money manager Scott Bessent as they jockey to be nominated for the position, according to the New York Times.Elon Musk, the Tesla CEO who has become a close adviser to Trump, threw his support behind Lutnick over the weekend.Robert F.
Kennedy, Jr, whom Trump named Secretary of Health and Human Services, also publicly endorsed Lutnick.Both Musk and RFK Jr.
went public with their support for the Long Island native after it appeared that he had dropped out of the running, according to the Wall Street Journal.Musk, who owns the X social media platform, wrote that Bessent was a “business-as-usual choice” while Lutnick “will actually enact change.”“Business-as-usual is driving America bankrupt, so we need change one way or another,” Musk wrote.After Musk posted his message on X, allies of Bessent, founder of Key Square Group, arranged a phone call with the mogul on Saturday, according to Bloomberg News.Sources close to Trump told Bloomberg News that the president-elect is considering appointing Lutnick to an ambassador post or other options.Trump is expected to meet with both Lutnick and Bessent sometime this week for further discussions.Last week, Bessent praised the president-elect’s economic agenda, which he said will usher in a period of growth.“Everyone asks me, ‘What do you tell President Trump he should do?’ I don’t have to tell Donald Trump he should do anything.He’s done it.
We had a great economy under Trump 1.0,” Bessent told Fox News Channel on Thursday.“Under Donald Trump, we could have a golden age for the next...