Musk backs Lutnick over Bessent as Trump’s Treasury secretary

Billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk threw his support behind Howard Lutnick, chair and CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, over Scott Bessent, founder of Key Square Group, as Treasury secretary in the next Trump administration in a post on the social platform X on Saturday.

"My view fwiw is that Bessent is a business-as-usual choice, whereas @howardlutnick will actually enact change. Business-as-usual is driving America bankrupt, so we need change one way or another," Musk wrote in the post.

Musk's post comes as President-elect Trump has been making appointments and nominations for his second administration, even giving Musk a leadership role alongside entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy at the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an advisory panel working outside the government to “dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies,” Trump said in a statement.

Whomever Trump picks as Treasury secretary will take leading roles in cementing his 2017 tax law, impose aggressive new tariffs and run point on a major shift in economic policy.

Bessent has been open about his support of Trump's plans for deregulation and energy independence. The president-elect called Bessent “one of the most brilliant men on Wall Street” at a rally in August. Trump pulled the investor on stage at the event, where he expressed confidence in Trump’s chances at reelection.

Some of Trump's advisers have been reportedly critical of Bessent, suggesting that he has been insufficiently supportive of the president-elect’s tariff policies, according to Politico.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), in contrast to Musk, backed Bessent, saying the former economic adviser on the Trump campaign would be an "outstanding" choice.

“I think he’d be outstanding. He’s from South Carolina, I know him well, he’s highly qualified,” Graham told news outlet Semafor on Thursday.