Will Bessent's Old Trump Jokes Make His Treasury Job Tricky?
Here's a look back at what the low-profile hedge fund manager said about his priorities before he became the leading contender for the role.
A balancing act.
Photographer: Dominic Gwinn/AFP/Getty Images
The world’s most consequential market, US Treasuries, heaved a sigh of relief when Donald Trump picked Scott Bessent as his next Treasury secretary. Yields on 10-year Treasury notes, which flow though into borrowing costs for businesses and households, tumbled on the news. Bessent has worked with three legends of the investment industry in Jim Chanos, George Soros and Stanley Druckenmiller, and markets reportedly liked the fact that he was “one of them” and could serve as the proverbial “adult in the room.”
The choice of a Treasury secretary could matter more than usual this time around because the US has around $6.7 trillion in debt to refinance in 2025, as my Bloomberg Opinion colleague Robert Burgess wrote last month. Concerns that the Trump agenda could add to the deficit and reignite inflation have sent borrowing costs surging at the worst possible time (the recent Bessent move notwithstanding). Investors hope Bessent is the right man to navigate these challenges, soothing nervous bond traders and guarding against the president-elect’s zaniest economic inclinations. But how well do we really know the hedge fund manager, who has kept a low profile for much of his professional life?