Bessent, a hedge fund manager, becomes the nation’s 79th Treasury secretary. He will lead President Trump’s economic agenda.
The Senate on Monday voted 68 to 29 to confirm Scott Bessent to be President Trump’s Treasury secretary, putting in place the new administration’s top economic official who will steer an agenda that is focused on tax cuts, tariffs and deregulation.
Mr. Bessent, a billionaire hedge fund manager with deep experience in financial markets, is taking over the job as Mr. Trump is sprinting to remake the U.S. economy in line with his “America First” vision. The new Treasury secretary will be responsible for helping to develop the Trump administration’s tax policies, plot the path for more tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China, and craft the administration’s first budget.
Mr. Bessent won strong bipartisan support, with 16 Democrats joining Republicans in backing his nomination.
The job will be Mr. Bessent’s first time overseeing a sprawling organization or working in government. Mr. Bessent, who is the first openly gay Treasury secretary, said during his confirmation hearing that he was previously turned away from public service opportunities because of his sexual orientation.
The arrival of Mr. Bessent at Treasury will herald a sharp departure from the policies of the Biden administration. The department’s programs that were focused on equity and climate are expected to be shuttered, and Mr. Bessent has said that staff will no longer be allowed to work remotely.
Many of the executive orders that Mr. Trump signed during his first week in office will fall to the Treasury Department and Mr. Bessent to study. He has already been asked to investigate the viability of a new “External Revenue Service” that would collect tariff revenue, to review the currency practices of U.S. trading partners and to identify foreign countries that subject Americans to discriminatory taxes.