Treasury Secretary nominee Scott Bessent faces lawmakers at a Senate Finance Committee hearing in his bid to become the next Treasury secretary.
Scott Bessent, President-elect Trump’s pick for Treasury Department secretary, plans to talk about Trump’s economic vision for the nation during his Senate confirmation hearing on Thursday.
In a copy of his written remarks obtained by FOX Business, Bessent begins by discussing his roots in the South Carolina Lowcountry.
“My father fell into extreme financial difficulty when I was young,” he wrote. “When I was 9 years old, I started working two summer jobs and I haven’t stopped working since.”
Scott Bessent, founder and chief executive officer of Key Square Group LP, at an interview during the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, July 16, 2024. (Vincent Alban/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
“My life has been the ‘only in America’ story that I am determined to preserve for future generations. Today, I believe that President Trump has a generational opportunity to unleash a new economic golden age that will create more jobs, wealth and prosperity for all Americans.”
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Later in his statement, Bessent makes a specific call to action about “secur[ing] supply chains that are vulnerable to strategic competitors,” and makes a call to “carefully deploy sanctions” in order to protect American national security and economic interests.
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“And critically, we must ensure that the U.S. dollar remains the world’s reserve currency,” Bessent’s statement continues. “Productive investment that grows the economy must be prioritized over wasteful spending that drives inflation.”
Bessent, the founder and CEO of global macro investment firm Key Square Group and a former Soros Fund Management partner, was a vocal supporter of Trump during the 2024 election season, and warned that if Congress does not act accordingly, “Americans will face the largest tax increase in history, a crushing $4 trillion tax hike.”
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“We must make permanent the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and implement new pro-growth policies to reduce the tax burden on American manufacturers, service workers and seniors,” Bessent is expected to tell the Senate Finance Committee. “President Trump was the first president in modern times to recognize the need to change our trade policy and stand up for American workers.”
Scott Bessent speaks at the National Conservative Conference in Washington D.C., July 10, 2024. (Dominic Gwinn/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Bessent, who previously taught at Yale University, has advocated for Trump’s plans to impose significantly higher tariffs on imports and did not single out China in his remarks, but he has previously said China’s trade practices have hollowed out American industry.
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“Members of the Committee, these are just some of the many important goals that President Trump has laid out for me and others on his economic team,” Bessent’s testimony concludes. “I firmly believe that, if confirmed, and with your counsel and support, we can usher in a new, more balanced era of prosperity that will lift up all Americans and rebuild communities and families across the country.”
The Senate Finance Committee is responsible for holding a confirmation hearing on Bessent’s nomination and advancing it to the floor for a confirmation vote.
Fox News Digital’s Eric Revell, Sarah Rumpf-Whitten and Louis Casiano, and Reuters contributed to this report.
