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Trump Reexamines Treasury Secretary Prospects After a Hasty Cabinet Appointments
President-elect Donald J. Trump is expected to visit Mar-a-Lago this week with two contenders for the job, Marc Rowan and Kevin Warsh.
Amid internal disagreements on who should be the Treasury Secretary, President-elect Donald J. Trump is considering former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh as a potential replacement.
Mr. Trump is also thinking about Marc Rowan, a billionaire on Wall Street.
It was anticipated that Mr. Trump would select either Scott Bessent, the founder of the investment firm Key Square Capital Management and a former George Soros money manager, or Howard Lutnick, the CEO of the Wall Street firm Cantor Fitzgerald. Additionally, it was thought that he would be chosen late last week.
However, he has slowed down his selection process because he has been reconsidering his choice of the top two applicants. It is anticipated that he will invite the candidates to Mar-a-Lago for an interview this week.
Recently, Mr. Trump has become irritated with Mr. Lutnick, who has been in charge of his transition organization. In private, Mr. Trump has voiced his annoyance with Mr. Lutnick’s excessive presence and his manipulation of the transition process for personal gain. Speaking on condition of anonymity, a person with knowledge of the procedure said that Mr. Lutnick was the main aggressor in the altercation between him and Mr. Bessent, which was characterized as a knife fight.
Trump Reexamines Treasury Secretary Prospects After a Hasty Cabinet Appointments
People in Mr. Trump’s business circles have also mentioned Mr. Bessent as a potential candidate to head the White House’s National Economic Council, and he is reportedly still being considered. Elon Musk, the president-elect’s close adviser, backed Mr. Lutnick on Sunday and referred to Mr. Bessent as a “business-as-usual” option for Treasury secretary in a post on his social media platform, X.
According to two people briefed on the subject who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters, it was unclear what came out of the Sunday meeting between Mr. Trump and Mr. Lutnick. Mr. Trump and Mr. Bessent have also met. According to one of those briefed on the situation, Mr. Trump is expected to invite the other two, along with any other new names that surface, to meet this week.
The president-elect Trump is choosing who will lead his second government, according to Karoline Leavitt, the incoming White House press secretary. He will continue to make announcements about those decisions as they are made. Trump Reexamines Treasury Secretary Prospects After a Hasty Cabinet Appointments.
Mr. Trump, who frequently highlights wealth and status on Wall Street, has said he wants a “big” person to fill the role. He has told people close to him how much he admires Mr. Rowan, the CEO and co-founder of Apollo Global Management.
Additionally, he has stated that Mr. Warsh is smart and beautiful.
Furthermore, Mr. Warsh has been called out time and again as a possible Federal Reserve chairman. Jerome H. Powell currently has the role, but he will depart in 2026.
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In 2017, Mr. Trump thought Mr. Warsh should be in charge of the Fed. He chose Mr. Powell instead, but when Mr. Powell’s central bank refused to decrease interest rates more significantly, he began to regret his choice.
At a 2020 press conference, Mr. Trump said to Mr. Warsh, “I could have used you a little bit here.” “When you wanted that job, why weren’t you more assertive?”
“I would have been very happy with you,” he replied.
In stark contrast to the delay in the Treasury secretary nomination, Mr. Trump has made swift headway on several other key cabinet jobs.
Mr. Trump is especially concerned about the impact of his Treasury pick on the stock market and does not want to stop the market’s upward trend after his victory.
This assessment has eliminated his former trade adviser, Robert Lighthizer, whose adamant support for tariffs would likely shock the markets. Mr. Lighthizer may still be offered a senior economic or trade role.
However, Mr. Trump does not want a Treasury secretary to reject his populist economics, just as his first-term Treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin, did. Of the options he is considering, Mr. Lutnick has been very vocal in his support of tariffs.
Those close to Mr. Trump stressed that another candidate may choose to seek for the job despite his reluctance.
A spokesman for Apollo chose not to comment. Mr. Warsh’s request for a response was not addressed. A reporter contacted Mr. Bessent, who said he was “not speaking.” A spokeswoman for Mr. Lutnick did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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