The Senate voted to confirm investor and billionaire hedge fund manager Scott Bessent to serve as President Donald Trump’s Treasury Secretary in a bipartisan fashion Monday evening.
Senators approved Bessent’s nomination 67 to 29 with more than 10 Democratic lawmakers joining their Republican colleagues to vote “yes” on Bessent. Four senators did not vote.
.@MikeCrapo urges colleagues to support the nomination of Scott Bessent to be Secretary of the U.S Department of the Treasury. pic.twitter.com/7cMsTentoT
— Senate Finance Committee (@SenFinance) January 25, 2025
Bessent, during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Finance Committee on Jan. 16., pledged to assist the president in unleashing a “new economic golden age” in the United States.
“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,” Bessent said during the hearing. “As President Trump has said, we will unleash the American economy by implementing pro-growth regulatory policies, reducing taxes and unleashing American energy production.”
Bessent also said that he will work with Congress to extend the 2017 tax cuts that Trump signed into law during his first term, which the Treasury secretary, during the hearing, called “the single most important economic issue of the day.” The Trump tax cuts are set to expire at the end of 2025, absent Congress passing legislation to extend them.
“As we begin 2025, Americans are barreling towards an economic crisis at year’s end,” Bessent told senators during the hearing. “If Congress fails to act, Americans will face the largest tax increase in history, a crushing $4 trillion tax hike.”
The average American family would experience a 22% increase in their tax burden if the tax cuts are not extended, according to a document released by House Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith in December.
A majority of senators voted to advance Bessent’s nomination 67-23 during a procedural vote Saturday.
Bessent also cleared the Senate Finance Committee 16 to 11 with Democratic Sens. Mark Warner of Virginia and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire voting with Senate Republicans in favor of his nomination.
“When it comes to Mr. Bessent’s qualifications, there’s no room for debate — his decades of academic, professional and leadership experience make him tailor made for the role of Treasury Secretary,” Republican Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo, Senate Finance Committee chair, said following the finance panel advancing Bessent’s nomination on Jan. 21.
Bessent is the founder of the Connecticut-based hedge fund Key Square Group and previously served as the chief investment officer at Soros Fund Management, an investment firm launched by left-wing megadonor George Soros.
He joins Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in securing confirmation.
The Senate is scheduled to vote Tuesday on the confirmation of Trump’s Transportation secretary nominee, former Republican Minnesota Rep. Sean Duffy, who is expected to garner bipartisan support.
(Featured Image Media Credit:Â Screen Capture/CSPAN)
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