Trump’s hunt for Treasury secretary down to the wire

The jockeying for President-elect Trump’s pick to run the all-important Treasury Department is coming down to the wire.

Trump’s economic team will be tasked with imposing an aggressive tariff regime meant to shake up global trade while keeping financial markets calm amid the disruption. To lead that team, the president-elect is said to be struggling to find a nominee with a track record of supporting tariffs while calming any potential jitters on Wall Street.

Sources familiar with the process told The Hill that a pick for Treasury is on track to be sorted out by this week after Apollo Global Management co-founder Marc Rowan and Kevin Warsh, a former member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, have emerged as front-runners, as well as Key Square Group founder Scott Bessent.

Rowan was expected to meet with Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Wednesday, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter. The Trump team and those at Apollo Global did not respond to a request for comment.

Rowan and Warsh will likely end in a “photo finish,” one source described, while Bessent, who previously was considered a leading contender, could be tapped as head of the National Economic Council. Others, though, still see Bessent as a front-runner.

Treasury secretary is Trump’s most important Cabinet pick left. The president-elect ran on the notion of turning the economy around, a campaign promise that resonated with voters tired of inflation. Trump also wants to extend the 2017 tax cuts set to expire next year.

But most notably, Trump has proposed a general tariff of 10 to 20 percent on all imported goods in order to pull investment into the U.S. and bolster domestic industry. That’s a significant escalation of his first-term trade policies.

“The single greatest choice that Trump could make in the Cabinet to effect his economic agenda is the Treasury secretary. The Treasury secretary by statute has the greatest authority over tariffs and tariff policy in general,” said a person with knowledge of discussions. “The Trump folks know that this pick is key to his economic agenda.”

The president-elect is hard-edged about his tariffs plan but is also focused overall on what the market reaction will be to whomever he ends up picking. Trump was known to watch the stock market during his first administration and view it as a barometer of his economic policy.

A source familiar with the Trump transition called Rowan “the thoroughbred who is making a big run,” adding that his leading the Treasury Department “would send a strong signal and inspire confidence in the capital markets.”

“Wall Street thinks, ‘Oh my God, that would be unbelievable,'” the source said. “He built a significant business. He’s a CEO. He’s recognized around the globe as an expert on financial markets.”

Meanwhile, Warsh is helping on the Trump transition economic team but has also expressed interest in being the next chair of the Federal Reserve after Chair Jerome Powell’s term is up. His father-in-law, Ronald Lauder, is a Trump ally and heir to Estée Lauder.

Warsh, in a Wall Street Journal op-ed in March, wrote if “foreign countries disfavor U.S. interests, they won’t gain the precious benefit of American protection or ready access to U.S. technology or markets,” suggesting he would be tough on other countries.

“I do think there’s been some pushback on Warsh because he has kind of very strongly a pro-growth, anti-protectionist record,” said the source familiar with the Trump transition. “MAGA crowd, the JD Vance wing of the Republican Party are like, 'OK, this guy is too Chamber of Commerce Republican.'"

Another name floated is Trump’s former U.S. trade representative, Robert Lighthizer, who is a staunch tariff advocate. While he is still considered in the mix for Treasury secretary, some sources think Lighthizer is more likely to land another job in the Trump administration.

“The Trump inner circle, they're thinking about the entire Trump agenda. It's not just tariffs but a lot of the stuff that they want to do on China, it really can either be successful or be thwarted by a bad Treasury Secretary and specifically a Wall Street Treasury secretary,” said a person with knowledge of discussions.

The source noted that Lighthizer has always been in the mix for the spot because he is the closest to Trump's opinions on economic policy.

Lighthizer would be expected to move very quickly on implementing tariffs and not be overly concerned about how the markets would receive the changes. Other names would be interested in arriving at a similar place but at a pace more digestible to financial markets.

“I would expect the next Trump administration to be much more aligned on where they want to get to over the past four years,” said a former Trump administration official. “I think the disagreement will ultimately be about how fast you get there.”

Trump opted to pick Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick for Commerce secretary, putting him out of the running for Treasury.

Although Lutnick was endorsed by entrepreneur Elon Musk for Treasury over the weekend, a person with knowledge of discussions suggested his opinion on tariffs led to him getting Commerce instead.

“I was told that Lutnick basically told Trump, 'I’m 100 percent on board with the tariff agenda,'” said a person with knowledge of discussions, who added that Lutnick, along with Bessent, has publicly described tariffs as a tool for negotiating and that the Trump team took note of that.

Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) told The Hill on Wednesday that Trump doesn’t feel rushed about making his final decision on the Treasury pick. Hagerty was with Trump at a SpaceX launch the day prior and was reportedly also floated as a possible option for Treasury.

“This is a very personal decision for the president and he’s going to take the amount of time he needs. … I don’t think he feels rushed at all, I didn’t get that sense. He’s going to be very thorough about the process,” Hagerty said, adding that he has personally “stayed out” of the inner workings.

Al Weaver contributed to this report.