Bessent will lead President-elect Donald Trump’s Treasury Department. Bessent is the first out gay member of Trump’s Cabinet.

Key Takeaways Scott Bessent, Donald Trump's pick for Treasury Secretary, was an economic advisor during his campaign and championed an agenda of tariffs, lower taxes, and deregulation.Bessent is a hedge fund manager who previously worked for liberal billionaire George Soros.

The hedge fund manager will be responsible for steering President-elect Donald J. Trump’s unconventional economic agenda.

President-elect Trump selected billionaire investor Scott Bessent to lead the Treasury Department on Friday as the former president continues to call for an increase in tariffs and major shifts in the country’s global trade operations.

Wall Street analysts believe Bessent will encourage Trump to roll back his aggressive plans for imposing tariffs on imported goods.

Not surprisingly, U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., a member of the Senate Finance Committee as well as the Senate Banking Committee, commended his fellow South Carolinian, in a news release, saying Bessent will “usher in a tax code that enhances growth, investment and economic opportunity for all Americans.”

Bessent spent his career in finance and gives Wall Street an advocate for tax reform and deregulation. Some call his nomination a 'relief' and say it could reduce the chance of severe tariffs.

When Donald Trump announced Friday that hedge fund manager Scott Bessent was his pick for Treasury secretary, there was a massive sigh of relief from the markets, with the yield on the 10-year Treasury falling sharply (a sign that investors think Bessent will help keep inflation cool) and the stock market getting a little bump.

The market had its second-biggest advance this year on Monday on speculation Bessent would be able to modify Trump’s plans. “All else equal, tariffs put upward pressure on inflation and they put downward pressure on growth,

President-elect Donald Trump has referred to his Treasury pick, billionaire hedge fund manager Scott Bessent, as "one of the most brilliant men on Wall Street."