SCOTT BESSENT

 NPR -  Who: Scott Bessent  Nominated for: Secretary of Treasury

The longtime investor and hedge fund manager was little known outside of Wall Street until he became one of the top economic advisers to President-elect Donald Trump's campaign.

• Bessent is a former protégé of George Soros, the billionaire investor and  Democratic mega donor.
• After Trump won the election in November, Bessent won an unusually public – and messy – contest to be nominated for the Treasury Secretary role.
• His husband and children sat behind Bessent at today's hearing. If confirmed, he will become the first openly gay, Senate-confirmed Cabinet official in a Republican administration.

Rolling Stone -  President-elect Donald Trump’s Treasury Secretary pick, a billionaire who has been accused of evading taxes, says that “the most important economic issue of the day” is extending Trump’s tax cuts for the ultra rich. Scott Bessent spoke about his economic plans while sitting for his confirmation hearing before the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday. Bessent is an investor, political donor, and a hedge fund manager. He is a former partner at Soros Fund Management, liberal philanthropist George Soros’ investment firm. Nevertheless, Bessent is a MAGA darling, and is expected to be confirmed by the Senate.

“Today I believe that President Trump has a generational opportunity to unleash a new economic golden age that will create more jobs, wealth, and prosperity for all Americans, he said. “We must make permanent the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act,” he added when outlining his goals.

When asked about whether he would renew Trump’s tax breaks for billionaires and corporations, he called them the most important economic issue today. The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was designed to disproportionately benefit the wealthy over the lower and middle classes. In 2025, the law is expected to deliver an average tax cut of more than $250,000 to the top 0.1 percent of earners, according to the Tax Policy Center, a nonpartisan think tank. In contrast, poor Americans will net a $70 tax cut. 

“This is the single most important economic issue of the day,” Bessent said. “This is pass-fail. If we do not fix these tax cuts, if we do not renew and extend, then we will be facing an economic calamity, and as always, with financial instability that falls on the middle and working class.”

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