The man who will have to make Trump’s sweeping economic program work

If you felt a gust of wind from out of the Northeast, it was the collective sigh of relief coming from New York’s financial district over Donald Trump’s selection of Scott Bessent to lead Treasury.

After a series of unorthodox Cabinet picks that shocked the policy world, Trump’s choice of the 62-year-old hedge fund executive is being praised by Wall Street heavyweights who had hoped the president-elect would select a more traditional candidate for his administration’s most powerful economic post. While Bessent — once the chief investor at financier George Soros’ firm — has been a vocal proponent of Trump’s agenda, he’s also viewed as a realist who will understand how policy shifts might ripple across markets and the global economy.

“The biggest risk is that you have ideologues pursuing policy regardless of consequence,” said Unlimited Funds CEO Bob Elliott. “The thing about a person who has run money for several decades is that they — almost by definition — have to be agile and responsive to market conditions. It’s in their blood.”