WASHINGTON — WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. Treasury nominee Scott Bessent told his confirmation hearing Thursday that President-elect Donald Trump has an opportunity to unleash “a new economic golden age.”
In testimony, Bessent said the U.S. must secure vulnerable supply chains, levy sanctions to address national security concerns “and critically, we must ensure that the U.S. dollar remains the world’s reserve currency.”
Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are questioning Bessent’s stance on taxes, tariffs, trade and other issues during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Finance Committee.
Trump’s choice for treasury secretary is a South Carolina billionaire who, before becoming a Trump donor and adviser, donated to various Democratic causes in the early 2000s, notably Al Gore’s presidential run.
He also worked for George Soros, a major supporter of Democrats.
Bessent was one of several people Trump considered for the position. Trump took his time before settling on Bessent as his nominee. He also mulled over billionaire investor John Paulson and Howard Lutnick, whom Trump tapped as his nominee for commerce secretary.
The treasury secretary is responsible for serving as the president’s fiscal policy adviser and managing the public debt. He would also be a member of the president’s National Economic Council.
If confirmed, Bessent will oversee massive agencies within the Treasury Department, including the Internal Revenue Service. The IRS received a massive boost in funding from Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act, though that money has been in constant threat of being cut.
Trump expects him to help reset the global trade order, enable trillions of dollars in tax cuts, ensure inflation stays in check, manage a ballooning national debt and still keep the financial markets confident.
“Productive investment that grows the economy must be prioritized over wasteful spending that drives inflation,” Bessent testified.
Senators were expected to question the money manager for hours on his views on cryptocurrency, the Trump-era tax cuts and potential conflicts of interest.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., a member of the finance committee, sent Bessent more than 100 written questions in advance, interrogating him on such topics as agency independence, housing, treasury workforce issues and financial stability oversight.
In addition, Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee are circulating a document that alleges Bessent has avoided paying roughly $1 million in taxes related to his hedge fund. He will be asked about this during his hearing.
Bessent has backed extending provisions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which Trump signed into law in his first year in office. Estimates from various economic analyses of the costs of the various tax cuts range from nearly $6 trillion to $10 trillion over 10 years.
He calls for spending cuts and shifts in existing taxes to offset the costs that extending the tax cuts would add to the federal deficit.