Trump chooses Bessent to be Treasury secretary and Vought as top budget official

President-elect Donald Trump has chosen former George Soros money manager Scott Bessent, an advocate for deficit reduction, to serve as his next treasury secretary

WASHINGTON — WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump announced Friday that he’ll nominate former George Soros money manager Scott Bessent, an advocate for deficit reduction, to serve as his next treasury secretary.

Trump also said he would nominate Russel Vought to lead the Office of Management and Budget, a position Vought held during Trump’s first presidency.

Bessent, 62, is the founder of hedge fund Key Square Capital Management, after having worked on-and-off for Soros Fund Management since 1991. If confirmed by the Senate, he would be the nation’s first openly gay treasury secretary.

He told Bloomberg in August that he decided to join Trump’s campaign in part to attack the mounting U.S. national debt. That would include slashing government programs and other spending.

“This election cycle is the last chance for the U.S. to grow our way out of this mountain of debt without becoming a sort of European-style socialist democracy,” he said then. __

Associated Press writer Josh Boak contributed to this report.