WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate confirmed billionaire investor Scott Bessent on Monday to serve as President Donald Trump’s treasury secretary, giving him the delicate balancing act of cutting taxes and curbing deficits while putting forward a plan on tariffs that doesn’t jeopardize growth.
He cleared the Senate roll call with bipartisan support, in a 68 to 29 vote — with 16 Democrats voting in favor of the Republican nominee.
The South Carolina resident will be the first openly gay individual in the role, a historic first as Trump seeks novel ways to implement a policy agenda driven by both billionaire business leaders with concerns over regulations and a populist base that wants government leaders to fight for them.
He will serve as the nation’s 79th treasury secretary.
Bessent, a past supporter of Democrats who once worked for George Soros, has become an enthusiastic supporter of Trump.
He has said the U.S. faces economic calamity if Congress does not renew key provisions of Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that are set to expire Dec. 31, 2025. Negotiating the extension of those tax cuts will be one of his major responsibilities even as he has also pushed for 3% annual growth, significant trims to deficits and increasing domestic oil production by 3 million barrels a day.
Bessent cleared the Senate Finance committee on a 16-11 bipartisan vote. After Bessent was confirmed, Senate Finance Committee Chair Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Id.) said voting for Bessent was “one of the easiest votes we could ever take.”
However, he faced pushback from Democrats on unpaid tax liabilities.
Democrats say Bessent has engaged in tax avoidance by failing to pay nearly $1 million in Medicare taxes related to his limited partnership in his hedge fund. Bessent, meanwhile, takes issue with his tax liability to the IRS and is in litigation over the tax bill. He committed during his confirmation hearing that he would pay the tax bill if a court rules against him.
Other Democrats have voiced support for Bessent, including Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del.
“While I disagree with many of his policy positions, particularly his support for extending tax cuts for the wealthy and President Trump’s tariff threats, I hope that he will focus the Treasury Department on bringing down costs for middle-class Americans,” Coons said in a statement, adding that he supports Bessent’s commitment to continue U.S. investment in international financial institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.