The US Senate on Monday confirmed Scott Bessent to be US President Donald Trump’s Treasury secretary, giving the billionaire hedge fund manager a central role in shaping the new administration’s policy ambitions around tax cuts and spending and managing economic relationships with allies and adversaries alike.
As the 79th secretary of the Treasury, Bessent will have sway over the nation’s tax collections and its US$28 trillion Treasury debt market, with vast influence over fiscal policy, financial regulations, international sanctions and investments from overseas.
The vote was 68-29, with 16 Democrats supporting the nomination.
Photo: AFP
Bessent, 62, is already shaping up to be a forceful advocate for Trump’s economic agenda, which centers on reducing taxes and imposing steep tariffs that Democrats, and some economists, argue could undo some of the progress the US Federal Reserve has made in getting inflation under control.
In his confirmation hearing, Bessent warned that failure to renew US$4 trillion in tax cuts expiring at the end of this year would be a “calamity” for middle-class Americans, and made the case that tariffs would help combat unfair trade practices, increase revenues, and bolster US leverage in international negotiations.
He also pushed back against the idea that Trump’s policies would be inflationary, and said that the administration’s efforts to increase oil production would actually help bring down prices. As Trump’s top economic official, Bessent would face a range of challenges, the most immediate of which would be managing federal cash flows after the government hit its statutory debt limit on Trump’s second day in office. Even before he was sworn in, the US Department of the Treasury was using “extraordinary measures” to avoid breaching the cap and triggering a catastrophic default.
Bessent told senators in his confirmation hearing that there would be no default on his watch.
Bessent would also need to deal with the prospect of rising budget deficits and added government debt estimated to run into the trillions of dollars, if tax cut extensions and other promised tax breaks cannot be offset by revenue increases or spending cuts. If precedent holds, he will be a central actor working with Congress on the size and shape of any tax reforms.
Bessent used his confirmation hearing to talk tough on deficits, declaring that government spending is “out of control,” though it is not clear how much he could do to rein it in. He backed Trump’s pledge not to touch the Social Security retirement program and Medicare insurance plan for seniors, among the biggest line items in the federal budget, along with interest expense, determined by market rates that the Treasury does not control.
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