Trump has not yet decided on a candidate for Treasury Secretary. Hedge fund manager Scott Bessent and Howard Lutnick, CEO of financial firm Cantor Fitzgerald and co-chairman of Trump's transition team, are actively vying for the position of Treasury Secretary. Trump's advisers have asked candidates interested in serving as Treasury Secretary to guarantee that they will support Trump's tariff plan. Bessent was previously more favored, but Lutnick came from behind and was backed by Musk. But people familiar with the matter said that other dark horses may also emerge. Lighthizer has previously expressed interest in serving as Treasury Secretary. On Sunday, the Coalition for a Prosperous America, a pro-tariff think tank, publicly supported Lighthizer, calling him "the best person to implement Trump's trade agenda."
The Trump team specifically pressured Bessent to commit to supporting Trump's tariff agenda because Bessent told the media that these tariff plans were a "maximalist" position and a tool for negotiating with trading partners. Trump's advisers hope to avoid repeating the same mistakes, as during Trump's last term, then-Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin often tried to ease tariff plans because he was worried that tariffs would disrupt the market.
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