Trump nominates Scott Bessent as treasury secretary; picks Russ Vought to lead budget office

President-elect Trump nominated Scott Bessent to serve as Treasury Department secretary once he returns to the White House in January.

In a statement on Friday, Trump highlighted Bessent's expertise.

"I am most pleased to nominate Scott Bessent to serve as the 79th Secretary of the Treasury of the United States," he said. "Scott is widely respected as one of the World’s foremost International Investors and Geopolitical and Economic Strategists. Scott’s story is that of the American Dream."

Trump said that Bessent will assist in achieving the "Golden Age for the United States," saying that he will focus on improving the economy and preserving the dollar.

"Scott has long been a strong advocate of the America First Agenda. On the eve of our Great Country’s 250th Anniversary, he will help me usher in a new Golden Age for the United States, as we fortify our position as the World’s leading Economy, Center of Innovation and Entrepreneurialism, Destination for Capital, while always, and without question, maintaining the U.S. Dollar as the Reserve Currency of the World," he said. "Unlike in past Administrations, we will ensure that no Americans will be left behind in the next and Greatest Economic Boom, and Scott will lead that effort for me, and the Great People of the United States of America."

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Trump also named Russ Vought to lead the Office of Management and Budget late Friday. 

In a statement, Consumer Bankers Association (CBA) President and CEO Lindsey Johnson congratulated Bessent on the nomination.

"As an experienced and accomplished businessman, we applaud Mr. Bessent’s recent comments in which he has called for a surge in small business optimism, a smart deregulatory banking agenda, and support for Main Street," Johnson said.

"If confirmed, we look forward to working with Mr. Bessent to advocate for sound financial regulatory policy that enable banks to better support consumers, small businesses, and the economy at large."

Bessent, the founder and CEO of global macro investment firm Key Square Group, was a key economic policy adviser and fundraiser for the Trump campaign.

He has been an advocate for economic policies like lower taxes, spending restraint and deregulation that have long made up the core of the Republican Party's platform, and has also been supportive of Trump's use of tariffs in trade negotiations.

At an event hosted by the Manhattan Institute earlier this year, Bessent suggested that Trump should pursue a three-point plan of targeting 3% economic growth, reducing the deficit to 3% of U.S. gross domestic product and to boost domestic energy production by 3 million barrels of oil a day.

He has also been supportive of Trump's plan to reduce regulations on cryptocurrencies and digital assets. Bessent has also argued that mass deportations of illegal immigrants would be less costly than the status quo given the cost of crime and fentanyl deaths.

Bessent previously taught at Yale University. He worked at Soros Fund Management (SFM) from 1991 to 2005, starting as a partner and eventually leading the firm's London office. After starting his own venture and working at another firm, he returned to SFM from 2011 to 2015 as chief investment officer, before he left to found his investment firm, Key Square Group. 

Key Square is focused on macro investing, which is a strategy that leverages geopolitical and macroeconomic information to guide its approach to investing in various markets.

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The role of treasury secretary carries a great deal of significance for conducting the president's economic agenda. 

Treasury secretaries often lead negotiations with Congress over tax and spending matters and play a role in dealing with foreign governments and financial institutions, as well as handling the operations of the Treasury Department and sub-agencies like the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

During Trump's first term as president, Steven Mnuchin served as treasury secretary for the duration of the four-year term after he was confirmed by the Senate on a 53-47 vote a few weeks after Inauguration Day.

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Bessent will also have to go through the Senate confirmation process, which will be made easier by a 53-seat Republican majority after GOP candidates flipped four seats in this election.

The Senate Finance Committee will be responsible for holding a confirmation hearing on Bessent's nomination and advancing it to the floor for a confirmation vote. 

Senate committees often hold confirmation hearings for nominees of an incoming presidential administration ahead of Inauguration Day, which creates the opportunity for those nominees to be confirmed the day the new president takes office or shortly thereafter.

Vought served OMB director during Trump's first term. He also served as deputy OMB director and acting director.

"He did an excellent job serving in this role in my First Term - We cut four Regulations for every new Regulation, and it was a Great Success!" Trump wrote on Truth Social. 

The OMB director's office develops the president's proposed budget, and is charged with executing the president's agenda across the federal government. Vought is a contributor to the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025 and a close Trump ally. 

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"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 wrote. "Russ knows exactly how to dismantle the Deep State and end Weaponized Government, and he will help us return Self Governance to the People."

Vought will help restore "fiscal sanity" and will help usher "new levels of Prosperity and Ingenuity," Trump said.