PNN – President-elect Donald Trump has nominated 62-year-old “Scott Bessant” and a billionaire investor to head the Economic War Room of his administration, or the Treasury Department.
According to the report of Pakistan News Network, the US Treasury Department is the main body of the White House’s agenda and economic war, and “Scott Bessant” will be the key adviser of the US President-elect Donald Trump on financial issues. He is going to manage the American economy while this country has witnessed an increase in debt and budget deficit in recent years.
The total US debt is more than 36 trillion dollars, of which 28.7 trillion dollars is public debt, and the budget deficit is expected to approach 2 trillion dollars in fiscal year 2025, and debt service payments are expected to be about 1.2 trillion dollars.
As the founder of the “K Square Group” hedge fund, Bessant financed Trump’s second campaign after decades of supporting Democratic candidates in the US presidential elections.
In his second term, Trump wants to increase tariffs and make major changes in US global trade operations, and therefore Bessant will be both America’s financial watchdog and a key official to help him implement his ambitious economic plan.
When Trump introduced Bessant as Treasury Secretary, he called him “one of the top international investors and geopolitical and economic strategists in the world.”
Trump also said: As a prominent figure on Wall Street and American industry, Scott will support my policies that will make America more competitive and stop unfair trade imbalances. He will strive for an economic transformation that puts growth at the forefront, especially through our future dominance of global energy.
According to CNBC, the founder of the economic company “K Square” along with several other people, including “Kevin Warsh”, the former head of the Federal Reserve Bank of America, and “Mark Rowan”, the manager of a private equity company, as the option for the secretary of the treasury in the Trump administration.
Bassett, a Democrat turned Trump supporter
Scott Bessant is associated with the US Democratic Party and has donated money to the presidential campaigns of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.
Before founding his company, Bessant worked for billionaire George Soros as his chief investment officer for more than a decade, according to the Hill website.
Soros is a strong advocate for democratic causes, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Regardless, Bessant has been in Trump’s orbit for years and is close to Vice President-elect J.D. Vance, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Basant’s work history as an investor
Reuters reported that Bessant’s career under Soros became very lucrative as his London-based investment firm bet against the British pound in 1992, earning his company $1 billion.
Years later, he eventually committed $4.5 million to start his own hedge fund that monitors global macroeconomics. During his financial career, he also developed a close relationship with Trump’s brother, investor Robert Trump, and became one of his family confidants.
Before he was announced as the new Treasury secretary, a source familiar with the matter told The Hill that Bessant’s experience in the bond and currency markets would be beneficial if he were to join the Trump administration.
Trump campaign economic advisor
During the campaign, Trump spoke repeatedly about the state of the economy, particularly tax cuts and tariff increases.
Bessant has been named Treasury Secretary at a time when America is struggling with a growing economy alongside long-term debt and deficit problems.
During Trump’s campaign, he appeared regularly on television to promote the president-elect’s economic agenda.
Bessant is a supporter of the tax cut policy of the first Trump administration and, if confirmed by the Senate, is likely to prioritize deregulation of American markets.
Tariff support; Tariffs are a tool instead of sanctions
Throughout his time in the White House, Trump has declared an all-out war against products that are not made in the United States.
He proposed a general tariff of 10 to 20 percent on all imported goods and a 60 percent tariff on China, both of which would be overseen by Basant. Bessant has said that tariffs can be used as a tool instead of sanctions to reform trade agreements.
Bessant, like his boss, Trump, is in favor of gradual tariffs and deregulation to promote American trade and control inflation, and supports the restoration of American production and energy independence.
First gay Treasury Secretary
If confirmed as Treasury Secretary, Bessant will be the first openly gay Republican member of the administration, according to The Hill. His partner, John Freeman, is a former New York City prosecutor.
Bessant will follow in the footsteps of current Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Democrat Joe Biden, who in 2021 became the first openly gay member of Biden’s cabinet to be confirmed by the Senate.
Earlier in his first term, Trump appointed Richard Grenell, who is gay, to head the National Intelligence Service without Senate confirmation.
According to the Reuters report, during this period, Trump is considering the appointment of Richard Grenell as the US special envoy to Ukraine, who, if elected, will play a key role in Trump’s efforts to stop the war in Ukraine; a post that does not exist in the administration of Joe Biden.