Senate Confirms Scott Bessent as Treasury Secretary 68-29; Sworn In the Next Day as the 79th Secretary
On January 27, 2025, in Washington, D.C., the U.S. Senate confirmed investor Scott Bessent as Secretary of the Treasury by a vote of 68 to 29. The following day, January 28, Bessent was sworn in as the 79th Secretary of the Treasury by Supreme Court Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh.
Bessent's nomination drew bipartisan support in the Senate: the Finance Committee had reported it to the full Senate 16 to 11, and the Senate voted 67 to 23 on January 25 to end debate. In a news release issued on the day of the ceremony, the Treasury Department said that shortly afterward Mr. Bessent was welcomed at the doors of the U.S. Treasury at 1500 Pennsylvania Avenue by department employees, and that his first working day included meetings with senior Treasury officials.
Bessent, 62, is the founder of the hedge fund Key Square Group and a former chief investment officer of Soros Fund Management, and served as a major economic adviser and fundraiser for President Trump's 2024 campaign. Trump announced his nomination on November 22, 2024. Bessent is the first openly gay person to lead the U.S. Treasury Department and the highest-ranking LGBTQ official in the administration.
At his January 16 confirmation hearing, Bessent warned that failure to extend the 2017 tax cuts expiring at the end of 2025 would be an economic calamity, committed that there would be no U.S. debt default on his watch, and said he saw no reason for the Federal Reserve to issue a central bank digital currency.
As secretary, Bessent is responsible for maintaining a strong economy, fostering growth and job creation, and managing the finances of the U.S. government — including tax collection, the roughly $28 trillion Treasury debt market, financial regulation and economic sanctions. He succeeded Janet Yellen and immediately faced negotiations over tax legislation and the debt limit.
(Source: U.S. Department of the Treasury)
Source: U.S. Department of the Treasury
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：财政部长 Scott Bessent 官方肖像。（美国财政部，公共领域，经 Wikimedia Commons） / Photo: Official portrait of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. (U.S. Department of the Treasury, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
