The Senate confirmed billionaire hedge fund manager and investor Scott Bessent as President Donald Trump’s treasury secretary on Monday evening, placing him in a top role that will shape the administration’s tax cuts and retaliatory tariffs.
Bessent was confirmed 68–29 by the GOP-controlled Senate, with bipartisan support after his nomination easily advanced through a 67–23 procedural vote over the weekend. Sixteen Democrats joined Republicans in backing his nomination.
“If qualifications — and I might add, character — are one of the tests for supporting a nominee, voting to confirm Mr. Bessent is one of the easiest that we could take,” Senate Finance Committee chairman Mike Crapo (R., Idaho) said on the Senate floor before lawmakers voted on the nomination. “He is the right person for this job, and I commend President Trump in making such an excellent selection.”
The newly confirmed cabinet official will become one of the Trump administration’s most important economic policymakers as the president attempts to implement his America First agenda as quickly as possible. As treasury secretary, Bessent will oversee America’s finances, tax collection, and global sanctions program.
Originally from South Carolina, Bessent spent decades working on Wall Street. Bringing a deep understanding of financial markets to the role, he will be a central player in the push to extend Trump’s 2017 tax cuts through the budget reconciliation process.
During his Senate confirmation hearing earlier this month, Bessent emphasized the need to extend the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act to prevent American families from experiencing a significant tax increase. He believes all American families will benefit from retaining the Trump tax cuts and expects Trump’s economic policies to bring inflation closer to the Federal Reserve’s 2 percent target.
Republicans are making the tax cut extension a focal point of their 2025 legislative agenda as they decide how exactly to support Trump’s priorities. Other major issues for Bessent include cutting the budget deficit, deregulation, and unleashing American energy production.
Bessent will also play an important role in implementing Trump’s proposed tariffs if the president follows through on his threats. During the hearing, Bessent spoke favorably about tariffs multiple times when Republican and Democratic lawmakers raised the topic.
Trump said he plans to hit Mexico and Canada with 25 percent tariffs by February 1 over their lack of assistance with curtailing illegal immigration. Trump also proposed retaliatory tariffs against Colombia this weekend when the South American nation refused to let U.S. deportation flights land. The tensions with Colombia simmered Sunday night when both sides agreed to hold off on tariffs and allow the flights to proceed.
In November, Trump tapped Bessent to lead the “Greatest Economic Boom” and help “usher in a new Golden Age” for everyday Americans. The Wall Street investor advised Trump on economic policy during his latest presidential campaign and founded hedge fund Key Square Capital Management. Before that, he served as the top investment officer for Democratic megadonor George Soros’s private investment firm.
With his confirmation, Bessent becomes the latest Trump nominee to be pushed through by the GOP-controlled Senate. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem have all been confirmed over the first week of Trump’s term.
Before the November election, Bessent said he liked Trump’s economic agenda because it tied together economic policy with national security: “Economic policy and national security are now inseparable, and Donald Trump understands that.”