‘Three-way tie’: Trump Treasury pick hanging in limbo

‘Three-way tie’: Trump Treasury pick hanging in limbo

President-elect Trump has spent recent days in meetings with potential picks to be his Treasury secretary but so far a final decision is hanging in the balance.

Marc Rowan, Apollo Global Management co-founder; Kevin Warsh, a former member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors; and Scott Bessent, Key Square Group founder, all traveled to Palm Beach, Fla., this week to meet with the president-elect, two sources familiar with the transition told The Hill.

The meetings included Trump and members of his team, including Vice President-elect JD Vance and transition co-chairs Scott Lutnick and Linda McMahon, a Republican source said. Rowan traveled back to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence Friday, the source added.

“It’s a jump ball right now. It’s somewhere between one of the three contenders,” the Republican source said.

The source described the current status as “a three-way tie” and added the timing of a pick would occur when Trump “stops spinning the wheel.”

“It’s fluid,” a source familiar with the transition said, adding that Trump is “seeing how Warsh float plays.”

Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) is also considered a contender for the role and was with Trump at the SpaceX launch in Texas on Tuesday.

The Trump transition team did not respond to a request for comment.

The jockeying for Treasury secretary has played out for several days, as Trump has struggled to find a nominee with a track record of supporting his tariffs plan while calming any potential jitters on Wall Street.

Treasury secretary is Trump’s most important Cabinet pick left — and will come after his pick for attorney general soaked up the spotlight Thursday with the withdrawal of former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.).

Aside from the Treasury — and the potential for Trump to ask former Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.) to be his Agriculture secretary — Trump still has to pick who he wants to head the departments of Labor and Housing and Urban Development.

Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-Ore.), who just lost her reelection bid, is considered a top contender for Labor and has been backed by the Teamsters.

One of the contenders for Treasury could instead end up being tapped for head of the National Economic Council. Warsh has also expressed interest in being the next chair of the Federal Reserve after Chair Jerome Powell’s term is up.

Earlier this week, Howard Lutnick was picked for Commerce secretary, taking him out of the running for Treasury, and McMahon was picked for Education secretary.

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.