Scott Bessent inches one step closer to Treasury secretary.
The Senate Finance Committee greenlit billionaire financier Scott Bessent’s nomination as President Donald Trump’s U.S. Treasury secretary.
Senators voted 16–11 to approve the hedge fund manager’s nomination to head the Treasury Department.
Two Democrat senators—Sens. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.)—voted in favor with all Republicans.
Bessent’s nomination will head to a floor vote in the coming days.
U.S. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) extolled Bessent’s qualifications and reaffirmed his commitment to a swift confirmation.
“Mr. Bessent has decades of academic, professional, and leadership experience relevant to the position, as well as the gravitas, demeanor, and character to be an effective secretary,” Crapo said at an executive session.
“There is no doubt that Mr. Bessent is an excellent choice for secretary of the Treasury. He has my vote.”
In last week’s confirmation hearing, the prospective Treasury secretary told lawmakers that failing to extend the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act would cause “an economic calamity” and lead to “financial instability” that would impact the middle and working classes.
He also dismissed committee members’ worries about Trump’s tariff plans, stating that trade levies can strengthen the U.S. dollar, facilitate changes to consumer preferences, and push foreign manufacturers to slash prices.
“The history of tariffs and tariff theory—optimal tariff theory—does not support what you’re saying,” Bessent said.
Bessent noted that tariffs can be classified into three categories: a tool to address unfair trade, a revenue source, and a negotiating tactic.
Throughout the hearing, Bessent touched upon a wide range of economic issues, such as reiterating his support for Federal Reserve independence, opposing the creation of a central bank digital currency, and revealing he would be open to eliminating the debt ceiling.Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), a ranking member on the committee, opposed Bessent’s nomination, stating that the Key Square Group founder has not been “square on his taxes.”
“Like a lot of Wall Street titans, he’s opted out of paying a fair share into Medicare, starving the program of almost a million dollars over just three years,” Wyden said.
Other committee members, including Sens. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), expressed concern surrounding the tax dispute between Bessent and the IRS.
“It speaks to the double standard in America,” Whitehouse said. “If you’re a billionaire, you’re not expected to follow the rules. Everyone else is expected to follow the rules.”
In defense of the U.S. Treasury nominee, Crapo stated that the IRS has been seeking to alter its interpretation of the tax law in question.
“If the Internal Revenue Service’s change of that interpretation is accepted, then he would owe taxes as would many, many other people,” Crapo said.
“This issue is in court, not in a case he has brought, but in a case another taxpayer has brought against the IRS trying to change the rules.”
Wyden also stated in his prepared remarks that Bessent was unprepared to answer tax policy questions and struggled throughout last week’s confirmation hearing.
“I don’t expect to agree with a Trump nominee on a whole lot when it comes to economic policy,” he said.
“But a nomination hearing is essentially a job interview, and I do expect nominees to come prepared. Mr. Bessent flunked that test on the biggest economic policy debate of the day.”
The top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee later cited news reports of an alleged pay-to-play scheme by Trump aide Boris Ephshteyn.
Wyden said that in a one-on-one meeting, Bessent told him about Ephshteyn’s talking about payments for public relations.
“He gave a different answer in response to a written question after his hearing,” Wyden stated.
“His new answer is, nobody ever asked him about payments in exchange for an appointment. He still won’t reveal who else in Trump’s orbit he talked to about it.”
So far, newly sworn-in Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been the only Trump nominee to be confirmed by a Senate vote.
Senate panels have advanced other nominees, including Pete Hegseth (Defense), John Ratcliffe (CIA), Kristi Noem (Homeland Security), and Russell Vought (Office of Management).