In a sea of controversial choices for his second term, President-elect Donald Trump’s expected pick to head the treasury, Scott Bessent, is being welcomed by Wall Street with open arms as financial markets rallied Monday on the news. The euro rose 1% and Canada’s main stock index hit a record high, while the S&P 500 gained 0.2% in midday trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up .7%, and the Nasdaq Composite index climbed .2%.
Bessent, a 62-year-old hedge fund manager, is being called “a safe pair of hands” as many analysts believe he will temper Trump’s more extreme economic views, especially on tariffs, while still supporting tax cuts and cutting the fiscal budget. In effect, they hope Bessent be a voice of reason in the president’s ear. (Trump has pledged to slap a 20% tariff on imports into the U.S. and up to 60% on products from China in order to pay for his deep tax cuts, which critics say will only end up jacking up prices on many products for American consumers.)
“News that Scott Bessent is the top choice for incoming U.S. treasury minister has raised the possibility that some ‘Trump trades’ may be watered down,” analysts at Rabobank said in a research note, as reported by CNBC.
As secretary of the treasury, Bessent would serve as Trump’s top economic policy advisor. The treasury secretary is basically the chief financial officer (CFO) of the government. If confirmed, he will have to address the federal debt limit, the expiring provisions of Republicans’ 2017 tax cut package, and the president-elect’s promise for greater deregulation and a withdrawl from key global agreements.
What’s interesting about Bessent is that, for many years, he worked for billionaire George Soros’s investment firm. Soros, a well-known Democrat and progressive, is famous for two things: shorting the British pound in 1992, making $1 billion, and supporting liberal political causes through his Open Society Foundation, which works to support global democracy. In fact, Bessent himself was a Democratic donor who raised money in the 2000 presidential campaign for Vice President Al Gore, according to the New York Times.
If confirmed, Bessent would be the first openly gay treasury secretary, according to The New Yorker, which is notable given the other current Trump cabinet nominees, many of whom are openly socially conservative. And in regard to LGBTQ+ rights, Trump has already said he will reverse President Joe Biden’s protections for transgender people.