Although President-elect Donald Trump won't be inaugurated until Monday, January 20, Senate confirmation hearings for his administration picks are now underway. And hearings on Pete Hegseth (Trump's choice for defense secretary) and former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi (Trump's U.S. attorney general pick) will be followed by a hearing for hedge fund manager Scott Bessent, Trump's choice for secretary of the U.S. Treasury Department.
Bessent, now 62, is a veteran of Wall Street. In an article published on January 15, Bloomberg News reporters Saleha Mohsin and Joshua Green detail his ability to "convince both MAGA populists and Wall Street" that he is "on their side." This, after "Trump asked his guests from the stage of a reception this month at Mar-a-Lago. 'Nobody heard of this guy.'"
"That tightrope act has delivered him to a Thursday confirmation hearing, after which he's expected to receive easy approval from a Republican-controlled Senate," the journalists explain. "It also offers a preview of how Bessent will navigate his role at Treasury, where he'll be a fulcrum of Trump's 'America First' agenda at a moment when investors are increasingly skittish about its potential impact."
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Mohsin and Green continue, "U.S. Treasury yields are testing 5 percent as traders see growing risks to what is often considered the world’s safest asset. Trump's plans for an aggressive tariff regime — and the possibility that those levies stoke inflation — have alarm bells ringing across stock and currency markets, too."
Gregory Faranello of AmeriVet Securities told Bloomberg News that although Bessent's "profile is admired" in the financial world, "his challenges run pretty deep."
Nonetheless, Bessent is being applauded by "War Room" host Steve Bannon.
Bannon told Bloomberg News, "He went Ivy League and has an elite Wall Street pedigree, but he’s a true populist — he's MAGA to his core."
Read the full Bloomberg News article at this link (subscription required).