President-elect Donald J. Trump has moved beyond the team-of-rivals approach from his first term and chosen economic aides who will defend tariffs and tax cuts.
President-elect Donald J. Trump put economic policy at the center of his campaign and, in assembling his economic team, has turned to a group of Wall Street executives, economists, lawyers and academics to help carry out his plans to cut taxes, impose tariffs and slash regulations.
In contrast to his first term, when Mr. Trump installed advisers who had disparate views about areas like free trade and tariffs, the men the president-elect has selected this time around have, at least for now, professed to be in sync with his agenda.
Still, it remains to be seen how well his advisers work together and whether those with more traditionally conservative views will be willing to go along with Mr. Trump’s unconventional approach to economic policy.
Scott Bessent
Treasury Secretary
A billionaire hedge fund manager, Scott Bessent made the unlikely career transition from being a donor to Democratic politicians and a top investor for George Soros to becoming Mr. Trump’s choice to lead the Treasury Department.
If confirmed, Mr. Bessent will bring broad knowledge of financial markets and the international economy to the job. In the 1990s, he gained notoriety by betting against the British pound and earning his firm, Soros Fund Management, $1 billion.
As an adviser to Mr. Trump’s campaign, Mr. Bessent promoted a 3-3-3 plan that entails increasing growth to 3 percent, cutting the budget deficit to 3 percent of gross domestic product and raising U.S. energy production by three million barrels of oil per day, or the equivalent in other fuels.
Howard Lutnick
Commerce Secretary
Howard Lutnick acquired a reputation as a cutthroat trader during his decades on Wall Street as chief executive of Cantor Fitzgerald, a financial services company that specializes in government bonds. The firm had its offices in the World Trade Center and lost many of its traders in the Sept. 11, 2001, attack, including Mr. Lutnick’s brother.
Mr. Lutnick landed in the Commerce Department post after the more coveted position at Treasury was given to Mr. Bessent. But in a twist, Mr. Trump gave Mr. Lutnick authority over the Office of the United States Trade Representative, a separate agency that could be key to fulfilling Mr. Trump’s trade plans. Like Mr. Trump, Mr. Lutnick has advocated imposing tariffs to protect U.S. industries from foreign competition.
