US confirms new Treasury Secretary - Who is Scott Bessent, who will play a key role in Trump's tax plan?!
The U.S. Senate confirmed billionaire investor Scott Bessent to serve as President Donald Trump's treasury secretary, giving him the delicate balancing act of cutting taxes and curbing deficits while laying out a plan for tariffs that doesn't jeopardize growth.
He was confirmed by a vote of 68 to 29, with 16 Democrats voting in favor to make him the nation's 79th Treasury secretary.
The South Carolina resident will be the first openly gay person in the role, a historic first as Trump seeks new ways to implement a policy agenda driven by both billionaire business leaders with concerns about regulations and a populist base that wants government leaders to fight for them.
Bessent, a former Democratic supporter who once worked for George Soros, has become an enthusiastic Trump supporter.
He has said the US faces economic disaster if Congress does not renew key provisions of Trump's Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that are set to expire on December 31, 2025. Negotiating an extension of those tax cuts will be one of his top responsibilities, even as he has also pushed for 3% annual growth, significant deficit reductions and an increase in domestic oil production by 3 million barrels per day.
After Bessent was confirmed, Republican Senator Mike Crapo of Idaho, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said Bessent's approval was "one of the easiest votes we could ever get."
However, he faced opposition from Democrats over unpaid tax liabilities.
Democrats say Bessent engaged in tax evasion by failing to pay nearly $1 million in Medicare taxes related to his limited partnership in his hedge fund. Bessent, meanwhile, disputes his tax liability with the IRS and is in litigation over the tax bill. He vowed during his confirmation hearing that he would pay the tax bill if a court ruled against him.
Other Democrats have expressed support for Bessent, including Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del.
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