Trump’s government: Trump wants hedge fund manager as finance minister

A hedge fund manager is set to become the next US treasury secretary, taking on a key position in Donald Trump’s second administration. Among other things, Scott Bessent will have to find a way to implement the US President-elect’s campaign promises such as tax cuts and new import tariffs. At the same time, his policies will have an impact on the global economy.

Bessent stands by Trump’s economic plans

Some economists had criticized that the tariff plans would lead to higher prices for US consumers and that tax cuts would put a strain on the US government budget. However, Bessent had defended the proposals in recent months. According to Trump, he should also curb the growth of the US national debt. Trump announced that Bessent would, among other things, eliminate imbalances in foreign trade and focus on economic growth.

Bessent’s ideas include increasing US oil production, reducing the budget deficit and reducing regulatory hurdles. The job also entails global financial market responsibility, simply because the USA is the largest government bond market.

Some in Trump’s circle didn’t like careers

The 62-year-old Bessent is the founder of the hedge fund Key Square Group. He was previously Chief Investment Officer of George Soros’ Soros Fund Management and is considered an expert in global macro investing. That was a disadvantage in the eyes of some Republican hardliners – and also the tech billionaire Elon Musk, who is currently close to Trump. The liberal Soros is demonized by parts of the American right as a donor to the Democrats.

Trump confidant Howard Lutnick was also interviewed for the post of finance minister – and was supported by Musk, among others. However, in the end, Trump nominated Lutnick for the position of Commerce Secretary.

Architect of government reform in the background

Trump wants to fill an important background job in the White House with an author of controversial plans to restructure the US government. Russel Vought will head the Office of Management and Budget, as he did in Trump’s first term. In recent years he has played a leading role in the so-called “Project 2025”, a radical conservative plan to change the USA. In the paper, Vought focused on ideas for presidential decrees that could, among other things, limit the independence of some authorities.

Candidates for Ministry of Labor and Health posts

Trump also announced a series of additional nominations on Friday evening. The current congresswoman Lori Chavez-DeRemer is to become labor minister. With this personality of a moderate Republican, Trump is trying to build a bridge to unions. According to the Politico website, the large Teamsters union is said to have lobbied for Chavez-DeRemer.

Scott Turner, a former professional football player who already held a position in the White House in the first Trump administration, is expected to take on responsibility for construction and urban development in the new cabinet. Trump nominated doctor and former MP Dave Weldon as head of the CDC. The FDA drug regulator is to be led by Martin Makary, a surgeon at John Hopkins University who emerged as a critic of the health authorities during the corona pandemic. Several of the new candidates have been regular guests on Fox News programs in recent years.

There was new excitement surrounding Tulsi Gabbard, who Trump wants to make intelligence coordinator. The news channel CNN reported that she was briefly placed on a US aviation security watch list. Gabbard has already been criticized, among other things, for spreading Russian propaganda arguments and for meeting ruler Bashar al-Assad in Syria in 2017. According to experts, the watch list includes people whose air travel raises questions. Why exactly Gabbard ended up on the list remained unclear.