After some very public internal jostling, President-elect Donald Trump moved to assure Wall Street with his pick late Friday of hedge fund billionaire Scott Bessent as Treasury Secretary.
The move followed a few days in which Trump bro Elon Musk publicly argued in favor of Howard Lutnick, a co-chair of the Trump transition team and the CEO of investment firm Cantor Fitzgerald. Lutnick instead was chosen to be the new secretary of the Commerce Department, where he will have a portfolio that includes trade and tariffs, topics dear to Trump’s heart.
Markets are signaling they like the move as Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were positive by 300 points ahead of Monday’s opening in what will be a short week on account of the Thanksgiving holiday. The positive vibe follows a 426-point gain for the Dow on Friday.
Bessent is a former chief investment office of Soros Fund Management, a pedigree that might raise eyebrows among some on the right, but he has been a close Trump economic adviser and one who has made a habit of intervening in foreign currency markets. He is known to be in favor of curving the federal debt.“Scott is widely respected as one of the World’s foremost International Investors and Geopolitical and Economic Strategists,” Trump said in his announcement on Truth Social.