Shropshire Star

Billionaire Scott Bessent confirmed as Donald Trump’s treasury secretary

Mr Bessent, a past supporter of Democrats who once worked for George Soros, has become an enthusiastic supporter of the president.

By contributor By Fatima Hussein, Associated Press
Published
Scott Bessent
Scott Bessent (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

The US Senate has confirmed billionaire investor Scott Bessent to serve as Donald Trump’s treasury secretary, giving him the balancing act of cutting taxes and curbing deficits while putting forward a plan on tariffs that does not jeopardise growth.

He cleared the Senate roll call with bipartisan support, in a 68 to 29 vote.

The South Carolina resident will be the first openly gay individual in the role, a historic first as the president seeks novel ways to implement a policy agenda driven by billionaire business leaders with concerns over regulations and a populist base that wants government leaders to fight for them.

Mr Bessent, a past supporter of Democrats who once worked for George Soros, has become an enthusiastic supporter of Mr Trump.

Donald Trump
Donald Trump (Mark Schiefelbein/AP)

He has said the US faces economic calamity if Congress does not renew key provisions of Mr Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act which are set to expire on December 31.

Negotiating the extension of the tax cuts will be one of his major responsibilities even as he has pushed for 3% annual growth, significant trims to deficits and increasing domestic oil production by three million barrels a day.

Mr Bessent cleared the Senate Finance Committee on a 16-11 bipartisan vote. Democratic senators Mark Warner and Maggie Hassan approved his nomination in committee.

However, he faced pushback from Democrats over unpaid tax liabilities.

Democrats say Mr Bessent has engaged in tax avoidance by failing to pay nearly a million dollars in Medicare taxes related to his limited partnership in his hedge fund.

He takes issue with his tax liability to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and is in litigation over the tax bill. He committed during his confirmation hearing that he would pay the tax bill if a court ruled against him.

Mr Trump took his time before settling on Mr Bessent as his nominee. He also considered billionaire investor John Paulson and Howard Lutnick, whom Mr Trump tapped for commerce secretary.

Howard Lutnick
Howard Lutnick (Mark Schiefelbein/AP)

The treasury secretary is the president’s fiscal policy adviser and manages the public debt. He is also a member of the National Economic Council.

With Mr Trump’s return to the White House and his Republican Party controlling majorities in Congress, his outsider cabinet choices are being confirmed despite initial scepticism and opposition from both sides of the aisle.

In his testimony, Mr Bessent committed to maintaining the IRS’s Direct File programme, which allows taxpayers to file their returns directly to the IRS for free, at least for the 2025 tax season.

Republican legislators say the programme is a waste of money because free filing programmes already exist, although they are not popular.

He also said during his confirmation hearing that the Federal Reserve should remain independent from the president’s influence and that US sanctions on Russian oil should be more aggressive.

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