Trump Shifts Focus to Economic Team as Kudlow Rules Out Return
(Bloomberg) -- President-elect Donald Trump is meeting with Key Square Group LP founder Scott Bessent on Friday, according to a person familiar, as he weighs a short-list of contenders battling to be his next Treasury secretary.
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The two are sitting down at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club, the person said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss a private meeting, which was first reported by the Washington Post.
The meeting comes as Trump is still weighing candidates including Bessent, Cantor Fitzgerald LP CEO Howard Lutnick and Robert Lighthizer, Trump’s first-term trade adviser, according to the people.
Larry Kudlow, Trump’s former National Economic Council director, who was in the mix for a senior economic policy job, informed the president-elect’s team that he does not want a role in the second term during a visit to Florida, according to a person familiar with the discussions. Kudlow declined to comment.
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In recent days, the contest for the Treasury job has intensified, a development that threatens to rankle a president-elect who has sought to avoid the infighting and disorder that were often hallmarks of his first administration.
The lobbying and posturing for the top economic post has made the process chaotic, according to another person familiar with the matter. Trump’s frustrations over the public jostling for Treasury have led him to ask advisers if there are other options for that job, the people said.
The president-elect is turning his attention to rolling out his economic policy team after making his selections for top national security and law enforcement positions. Trump could announce his Treasury decision as soon as Friday, people said. Trump is also expected to soon decide on a Commerce secretary, US Trade Representative and NEC director, they added.
Bessent was a prominent advocate for the president-elect during the campaign and has garnered the support of a wide range of leaders across Trump’s coalition, including longtime allies Steve Bannon and Ralph Reed.
The hedge fund manager has also earned quiet admiration from some key Wall Street figures. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s Jamie Dimon thinks highly of Bessent for Treasury secretary but does not consider him the only good candidate, according to someone familiar with Dimon’s thinking.
On Friday, in a Fox News op-ed, Bessent publicly aligned himself with Trump’s trade policies, writing that “tariffs have a long and storied history as both a revenue-raising tool and a way of protecting strategically important industries in our country.”
That followed a Thursday interview with Fox News’ Fox and Friends — an outlet that has provided a platform for potential second-term picks to raise their profile — where Bessent praised Trump’s economic agenda as one that would help grow diverse sectors of the economy.
Lutnick, who is also the co-chair of Trump’s transition team, however, is pushing back on Bessent and is making a play for the job himself, according to people familiar, raising concerns that the hedge fund manager is soft on protectionist pledges such as tariffs, a key element of Trump’s populist platform.
Earlier: Bessent Earns Endorsements, Lutnick Jockeys for Treasury Post
Lutnick has been staying physically close to the president-elect as he ponders his decision, with the Wall Street executive sitting at the same table as Trump at the Thursday night gala at Mar-a-Lago, the people said.
Here’s how Trump’s transition is shaping up on Friday:
White House Team
Trump on Friday added to his White House team, tapping Steven Cheung to be communications director, a key role in honing and amplifying the administration’s messaging to the American public.
Cheung worked for the Trump campaign during the 2024 election. A longtime aide, Cheung worked in communications for Ultimate Fighting Championship before joining the 2016 Trump campaign as a rapid response director. During Trump’s first term he worked as assistant communications director and as director of strategic response.
Trump’s first term saw him cycle through multiple communications directors — as well as press secretaries — casting an image of an often chaotic administration. The role under Trump comes with unique challenges, with the president-elect famous for directly communicating with the public — usually through social media, as well as by calling into cable news programs.
While the White House press secretary offers a face for the administration and one of its most visible roles, the communications director — whose work is largely done behind-the-scenes — bears more overall responsibility for crafting and promoting the president’s media strategy.
Most famously, Anthony Scaramucci held the role for just 11 days, becoming a punchline on late night television and on the internet for his notoriously short stint.
Scaramucci criticized both onetime White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus and longtime Trump adviser Steve Bannon — the latter profanely — in an interview with the New Yorker, damaging his standing within the White House. Scaramucci went on to be a vocal critic of Trump.
Trump on Friday also confirmed that Sergio Gor would serve as the director of the White House Office of Presidential Personnel.
Gor is the co-founder of a conservative publishing company that produces the president-elect’s books. As head of the personnel office, Gor will help vet potential incoming employees and will be responsible for helping to fill thousands of jobs across the federal agencies.
Burgum for Interior
Trump is also expected to make a formal announcement that he is tapping North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum for Interior secretary.
The president-elect revealed the pick last night during remarks at a gala at his Mar-a-Lago estate, saying that a formal announcement had been intended for Friday.
“He’s going to head the Department of Interior, and he’s going to be fantastic,” Trump said.
Burgum, 68, ran a long-shot bid for the Republican nomination before dropping out and endorsing Trump. A technology entrepreneur and venture capital investor, his home state of North Dakota is a energy rich. Burgum has been an advocate for boosting domestic energy production.
--With assistance from Hannah Levitt.
(Updates throughout)
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