The one institution that Trump can’t afford to break
Some of Trump’s closest advisers are angling for the president-elect to choose a candidate who will shake things up at Treasury.
By Sam Sutton
Donald Trump has chosen to move fast and break things with his early picks for top Cabinet posts. He is facing stiff resistance to that strategy when it comes to the Treasury Department. The president-elect has been hung up for days over who will get the nod for Treasury secretary, the most powerful economic post in his Cabinet. It had been a two-man race between billionaire Howard Lutnick, Trump’s transition team co-chair, and Scott Bessent, a hedge fund executive, until internal squabbling created openings for other candidates, including former Federal Reserve Gov. Kevin Warsh, Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), and Apollo Global Management CEO Marc Rowan….A mismanaged Treasury could “add more uncertainty to the Treasury bond market, which is already in a potentially fragile condition due to liquidity shortages, deficits and a number of other challenges,” Karen Petrou, managing partner of Federal Financial Analytics, said. Rising federal deficits have also fomented concerns about the dollar’s role as a reserve currency and the U.S. government’s ability to respond to any economic crisis in the future. Markets are more likely to respond favorably if they have faith that the person running the show has a firm grasp on how policy shifts affect the broader economy….
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/11/18/trump-treasury-disruption-00190250