Trump Eyes Possible Treasury Secretary Nominees

Two people playing large roles in a fundraiser this week for Donald Trump are being mentioned as potential Treasury Secretary nominees should the former president win another term in the White House.

Billionaire hedge-fund manager John Paulson and investor Scott Bessent have gotten Trump’s attention as he weighs possible cabinet members, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

Paulson will host Saturday’s fundraiser in Palm Beach, Florida. Bessent is co-chair of the event.

The Trump-GOP fundraiser has raised at least $33 million, Financial Times first reported Friday. The amount can’t be verified until campaign disclosure filings are released.

The mention of Paulson and Bessent as possible nominees for Treasury signals that Trump views Wall Street experience as a key factor in making the selection, sources told the Journal.

The newspaper added that Trump and his allies also have discussed others for Treasury secretary. They include Robert Lighthizer, the former president’s top trade adviser; former Trump administration Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Jay Clayton; and JPMorgan Chase Chief Executive Jamie Dimon.

Paulson, 68, who made his fortune betting against subprime mortgages and banks as the U.S. housing market unraveled, was one of Trump’s earliest Wall Street backers in 2016.

DailyMail.com reported that Trump, after his New Hampshire victory this year, said Paulson “makes money everywhere he goes, actually. So, money machine. Maybe we’ll put, you know what, put him at Treasury. You want to make a little money?”

Bessent, 61, founder of investment firm Key Square Group, previously was the chief investment officer at George Soros’ Soros Fund Management. After supporting Trump in 2016, Bessent mostly stayed on the sidelines in 2020. However, he’s said to be concerned about President Joe Biden winning another term, the Journal reported.

As the premier economic policymaking agency in the federal government, the Treasury Department implements tax policy, manages the country’s debt, and leads financial regulators. It also controls sanctions and conducts international economic diplomacy.

Bessent is one of three dozen co-chairs for the fundraiser. The guest list indicates that some wealthy GOP donors who previously kept their distance from Trump until he dominated the Republican primaries.

“There are a lot of Wall Street people who tried everything else and are in the process of coming back to the party and Trump,” a GOP donor told the Journal.

The Federal Reserve chair also could be a position Trump looks at if he wins a second term. Current Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s term runs to 2026, but Trump’s economic advisers have began discussing possible candidates to lead the central bank, the Journal reported last month.

Kevin Warsh, an economic-policy adviser to then-President George W. Bush; Kevin Hassett, a former chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers during the Trump administration; and Arthur Laffer, an economic adviser to then-President Ronald Reagan, are those whom advisers have presented to Trump as potential candidates to lead the Federal Reserve.