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President-elect Donald Trump announced on Friday night that he is going to nominate hedge fund manager Scott Bessent as Secretary of the Treasury–a highly important cabinet position equivalent to Finance Minister in many other countries.
Bessent, 62, is the founder of the Key Square Capital Management hedge fund and has worked on and off for Soros Fund Management since 1991. If confirmed, he will be the nation’s first openly gay treasury secretary.
He is a deficit hawk and has said he would work to lower the U.S. national debt.
Bessent, a billionaire, is a past supporter of Democrats but has become a strong supporter of Trump.
“This election cycle is the last chance for the U.S. to grow our way out of this mountain of debt without becoming a sort of European-style socialist democracy,” he told Bloomberg in August.
He supports Trump’s plan to extend tax cuts and said tariffs during a second Trump administration would be directed primarily at China.
In a statement, Trump said, “Scott is widely respected as one of the World’s foremost International Investors and Geopolitical and Economic Strategists.”
Budget, labor and housing
Trump also announced his intention Friday night to nominate several other candidates to top posts.
The president-elect said he would nominate Russell Thurlow Vought as director of the Office of Management and Budget. Vought served in the same role in the first Trump administration.
“Russ has spent many years working in Public Policy in Washington, D.C., and is an aggressive cost cutter and deregulator who will help us implement our America First Agenda across all Agencies,” Trump said in a statement.
Vought was closely involved in a conservative blueprint for a second Trump administration, called Project 2025, which Trump distanced himself from during the campaign.
Trump also chose Oregon Representative Lori Chavez-DeRemer, who lost her reelection bid in the state’s 5th Congressional District, to become secretary of labor.
In a statement, he said, “Lori’s strong support from both the Business and Labor communities will ensure that the Labor Department can unite Americans of all backgrounds behind our Agenda for unprecedented National Success — Making America Richer, Wealthier, Stronger and more Prosperous than ever before!”
His final Cabinet pick Friday night was Scott Turner to serve as housing secretary. Turner is a former football player who worked in Trump’s first administration as the executive director of the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council.
Trump said Turner helped in that role to “to lead an Unprecedented Effort that Transformed our Country’s most distressed communities.”
Health and national security
The president-elect also made several health picks on Friday night, choosing family medicine doctor and Fox News contributor Janette Nesheiwat to be surgeon general, former congressman and medical doctor Dave Weldon to direct the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and surgeon Martin Makary to lead the Food and Drug Administration.
Trump called Nesheiwat a “fierce advocate and strong communicator for preventive medicine and public health.”
On the national security front, Trump announced late Friday that he has chosen former State Department official Alex Wong to serve as deputy national security adviser. In a statement, Trump said Wong, who served as deputy special representative for North Korea during his first administration, “helped negotiate my Summit with North Korean Leader, Kim Jong Un.”
Trump also chose conservative commentator Sebastian Gorka to serve as White House senior director for counterterrorism, saying he had more than 30 years of national security experience.
Attorney general
On Thursday, Trump said he would nominate Pam Bondi, as attorney general. Bondi was Trump’s second choice after former Republican Representative Matt Gaetz withdrew his name from consideration in the face of widespread scrutiny of alleged sexual misconduct and illicit drug use.
Bondi, 59, has established herself as a staunch conservative, Trump loyalist and outspoken defender of the president-elect, personally and professionally.
She was one of the lawyers on Trump’s defense team during his first impeachment trial, and she played a leading role in his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
Early in her law career, Bondi worked as prosecutor and spokesperson in Hillsborough County, where she was assistant state’s attorney. In 2010, she became the first female attorney general elected to the state of Florida.
Some appointees face scrutiny
Several other Trump appointees also are facing intense scrutiny, including defense secretary pick Pete Hegseth, a Fox News talk show host and decorated military veteran; Health and Human Services chief pick Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a vaccine skeptic; and director of national intelligence pick Tulsi Gabbard, a Democratic-congresswoman-turned-Republican supporter of Trump.
With Republicans holding a 53-47 edge in the Senate next year, and unified Democratic opposition to any candidate, it would have taken only four Republicans to doom a nomination.
But recent U.S. political history stands in their favor. The Senate has not voted against a presidential Cabinet nominee since 1989, with members of both political parties giving wide deference to new presidents to fill top-level jobs with appointees of their choosing.
Additional information:
The Treasury Secretary in the United States is the head of the U.S. Department of the Treasury and serves as the government’s chief financial officer. Their role includes:
- Economic Policy Development: Advising the President on economic issues and helping to develop strategies to promote growth, reduce unemployment, and ensure financial stability.
- Managing Government Finances:
- Overseeing the production of currency and coin.
- Managing the federal budget and public debt.
- Supervising the collection of federal taxes through the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
- Regulating Financial Institutions: Supervising national banks and working to maintain the stability of the financial system.
- Domestic and International Economic Leadership:
- Representing the U.S. in international financial organizations like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank.
- Negotiating trade and financial agreements with other nations.
- Enforcement of Financial Laws: Leading efforts to combat financial crimes, including money laundering, terrorism financing, and fraud.
- Issuing Bonds: Managing the issuance of U.S. Treasury securities to fund government operations.
The Treasury Secretary is a key member of the President’s Cabinet and is often involved in shaping broader economic and fiscal policies.
Source: VOA.
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