Donald Trump (R) announced on Nov. 22, 2024, that he had selected Scott Bessent as his nominee for secretary of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. This position requires Senate confirmation. In a statement, Trump said, “On the eve of our Great Country’s 250th Anniversary, he will help me usher in a new Golden Age for the United States, as we fortify our position as the World’s leading Economy, Center of Innovation and Entrepreneurialism, Destination for Capital, while always, and without question, maintaining the U.S. Dollar as the Reserve Currency of the World.”
Bessent is the founder and CEO of Key Square Group, a hedge fund. He previously worked for Soros Fund Management (SFM) from 1991 to 2000, and from 2011 to 2015. In between his time at SFM, Bessent was a senior investment advisor at Protégé Partners, and an adjunct professor at Yale University.
Bessent was Trump’s 17th announced Cabinet nominee. He made the announcement 17 days after election day, the fastest announcement for a Treasury Secretary nominee across the last four presidential transitions. In 2016, Trump announced his pick for the position 22 days after election day. President Joe Biden (D) announced his Treasury secretary pick 27 days after the 2020 election, and former President Barack Obama (D) announced his Treasury secretary pick 20 days after election day.
As of Nov. 24, 2024, 19 days after election day, Trump had announced 21 Cabinet-level nominees. At this point after election day, Biden had announced one Cabinet-level position in 2020, Trump had announced five in 2016, and Obama had announced one in 2008.
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