Senate confirms S.C. native Scott Bessent as Treasury secretary

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - The U.S. Senate voted Monday to confirm hedge fund manager and South Carolina native Scott Bessent as the 79th Secretary of the Treasury.

He was confirmed by a 68-29 vote in the U.S. Senate, illustrating bipartisan with 16 Democrats ing his appointment.

Bessent was raised in Little River, South Carolina and attended Yale University, where he obtained a degree in political science. He went on to Soros Fund Management and later founded his own investment firm, Key Square Group.

The new Treasury secretary will be a pivotal player in enacting President Trump’s economic agenda, which includes extension of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and implementing tariffs on products from China, Canada and Mexico.

Key provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, commonly known as the Trump tax cuts, are set to expire on Dec. 31, 2025 unless extended by the federal government.

During his Senate confirmation hearing, Bessent spoke of the federal government’s “significant spending problem”, claiming domestic discretionary spending has grown 40% under the Biden istration.

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Bessent also noted he ed the maintenance of the IRS’ Direct Files program, which allows taxpayers to file tax returns for free, but said he was not in favor of raising the federal minimum wage from $7.25, where it has remained since 2009.

“I believe that President Trump has a generational opportunity to unleash a new economic golden age that will create more jobs, wealth and prosperity for all Americans,” Bessent told the Senate during his hearing.

U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, R - SC, appeared alongside Bessent during his confirmation hearing to introduce him and later released a statement celebrating his appointment after the hedge fund manager was confirmed.

“It’s a very big day for South Carolina and our nation,” said Graham. “Scott Bessent received strong bipartisan to be the next Treasury Secretary. He will hit the ground running in of President Trump’s America First Agenda.”

Bessent is the first openly gay person to serve as Treasury secretary the highest-ranking openly gay person in the history of the United States, seeing as he is fifth in line to succeed the presidency.

Bessent lives in Charleston with his husband John and his two children.