Billionaire protect portfolio manager lines himself up for Treasury secretary role

Scott Bessent, a top fundraiser for Donald Trump, is canvassing candidates to serve as his deputy as he positions himself to become Treasury secretary, one of the most significant positions in the president-elect’s cabinet.

Bessent, a protect portfolio manager who has served as an economic adviser to the former president, is widely viewed as a leading candidate for the post in Trump’s recent administration.

Bessent declined to comment. But one person close to the billionaire investor said he was only seeking suggestions for a deputy Treasury secretary because Trump’s shift throng had asked him for the names of candidates whom he had helped to vet. 

“Some people may have mistaken those as direct interviews, which they were not,” said the person. The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

On Wednesday, Bessent told CNBC there had been “no discussions about jobs”, but people familiar with Bessent’s efforts said he was acting as if he would serve in the influential role.

“I’m going to do whatever president Trump asks,” he told CNBC when asked if he would join the administration.

Bessent, the founder of Key Square fund Management, last year became one of the top economic advisers to Trump, who recently described him as “one of the top analysts on Wall Street”.

A billionaire who made his fortune betting against the Japanese yen with liberal philanthropist George Soros, he has backed many of Trump’s economic policies, including imposing wide-ranging tariffs on imports. 

One person familiar with the circumstance cautioned that it was ambiguous whether Bessent had been offered the Treasury post or was “measuring the drapes prematurely” for a position in government.

Other feasible contenders for the position include John Paulson, another billionaire protect portfolio manager and Trump campaign donor, and Robert Lighthizer, the former US trade representative. Senator statement Hagerty, who served as US ambassador to Japan during the first Trump administration, has also been mentioned in connection with the job.

If nominated and confirmed for the post by the Senate, Bessent would assume one of the most powerful positions in the Trump administration.

The Treasury secretary is tasked with keeping the globe’s largest economy and government debt safety trade on a stable footing as well as helping to craft and execute the president’s economic agenda. The department is also involved in the imposition of sanctions, including on Russia over its packed-scale invasion of Ukraine.

In a recent interview with the monetary Times, Bessent framed Trump’s pledge to impose sweeping tariffs on imports as a “maximalist” threat that could be altered during talks with market activity partners. “It’s escalate to de-escalate,” he said.

Bessent told CNBC he would recommend that tariffs be “layered in gradually” so any inflationary impact would emerge over period and be offset by disinflationary policies, such as deregulation.

He also signalled that he backed traditional Treasury views, including the importance of a powerful US dollar as the globe’s savings money. During his first term, Trump said he was not “thrilled” about the strength of the dollar because it had made things challenging for US exporters, such as Boeing.

But Bessent has also backed unorthodox policies that economists and investors alert could boost volatility.

Earlier this year, he floated the concept of nominating a “shadow” chair of the Federal savings, who would not sit on the US central lender’s policymaking committee but would provide guidance on the upcoming path of economic strategy. Such an unprecedented shift would undermine the influence of Jay Powell, the current Fed chair.

Additional reporting by Alex Rogers in Palm Beach