Donald Trump’s political revival was fueled by a populist economic message that hit home with an electorate weary of Biden-era high prices and interest rates. Now the president-elect is having a hard time picking a quarterback to run his economic game plan.
Nearly two weeks after Election Day — and after a flurry of high-profile Cabinet picks that blindsided Washington policymakers and industry leaders — Trump has yet to name his pick for who will lead the Treasury Department. Fighting between Trump world factions that support transition co-chair Howard Lutnick and hedge fund executive Scott Bessent has spilled into public view.
Two sources told POLITICO on Sunday that the president has grown frustrated by the jockeying between the two top candidates, and his delay in making a selection has lifted the odds of one of the other rumored contenders like Trump’s longtime trade policy adviser Robert Lighthizer, Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) and Apollo Global Management CEO Marc Rowan emerging as a spoiler. The New York Times on Sunday night reported that former Federal Reserve Gov. Kevin Warsh is also now in the running and that certain candidates may be asked to interview this week.
“President-Elect Trump is making decisions on who will serve in his second administration. Those decisions will continue to be announced by him when they are made,” transition spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.
The infighting has thrown into question who will ultimately be tasked with a powerful job jurisdiction which includes financial markets, the issuance of U.S. debt, economic national security matters, tax policy and the strength of the dollar. Other key economic posts, including director of Trump’s National Economic Council, Commerce Secretary and U.S. Trade Representative, also remain unfilled.
Bessent, the CEO of Key Square Group and a frequent Trump campaign surrogate, had been widely viewed as the front-runner for Treasury after Election Day. Sources close to the transition say that Trump’s selection process was slowed as Lutnick exerted tight control over what information is presented to the president-elect, which created challenges for Bessent — or other candidates — to deliver their own pitch. Bessent met with the president at Mar-a-Lago on Friday.
Elon Musk, the unpredictable founder of Tesla and a top adviser to Trump, entered the fray over the weekend, arguing that Lutnick would be a stronger pick for the role. Bessent represented the “business-as-usual choice,” Musk posted on X, the social media network he purchased two years ago. “Business-as-usual is driving America bankrupt, so we need change one way or another.” He later added that he was open to hearing more about Bessent, and the two reportedly spoke before Musk joined Trump ringside at a UFC match on Saturday night.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s choice to lead Health and Human Services, injected the incoming president’s crypto policy agenda into the mix with a post on X about how bitcoin would “have no stronger advocate than Howard Lutnik [sic].”
Meanwhile, Bessent’s allies on Wall Street were campaigning as well, arguing that the macro hedge fund CEO’s solid understanding of markets would help the president execute his policies without causing undue disruptions to financial markets or the broader economy.
“I’ve known Scott for almost forty years, as he was my first professional hire at Chanos & Co.,” Jim Chanos, the famed short-seller, told POLITICO. “While we might disagree on politics, there is no questioning his character, patriotism and intellect. He would make an outstanding Treasury Secretary.”
The Financial Times on Sunday reported that Trump advisers have sought assurances from the top candidates that they “are committed to his sweeping tariffs plans.” The story included a detail about how Lighthizer — a tariff hardliner who served as Trump’s trade representative during the first administration — “had previously expressed interest in becoming Treasury secretary.”