Trump Taps Investor Scott Bessent as Treasury Secretary

President-elect Donald J.Trump has picked Scott Bessent to serve as Treasury secretary, according to people familiar with the matter, tapping a billionaire hedge fund manager to lead an economic agenda that is expected to be built around raising tariffs and cutting taxes.Mr.

Bessent, the founder of the investment firm Key Square Capital Management, has emerged as a central economic adviser to Mr.Trump over the past year.

He has called for rolling back government subsidies, deregulating the economy and raising domestic energy production.Unlike many on Wall Street, Mr.

Bessent, 62, has also defended the use of tariffs, which are Mr.Trump’s favorite economic tool.Although Mr.

Bessent’s policy ideas are in lock step with conservative economic principles, one aspect of his background could draw questions from Republicans.He rose to prominence in the finance world as a protégé of George Soros, the billionaire Democratic donor and longtime villain of the right wing, and served for years as his top money manager.If confirmed by the Senate, Mr.

Bessent would take over a department with vast responsibilities that is at the core of the federal government.The Treasury Department issues debt to fund the government’s operations and pay its bills, including paying Social Security and veterans benefits.But the most visible parts of Mr.

Bessent’s job will be shepherding the administration’s tax plans through Congress, leading economic negotiations with China and overseeing the nation’s sanctions program.Mr.Bessent will be taking over the department at a time when the American economy is the strongest in the world and as years of rapid inflation have finally come under control.

However, the national debt is approaching $36 trillion, and the campaign policies proposed by Mr.Trump could cost as much as $15 trillion over a decade, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScrip...