Scott Bessent is the CEO and founder of the risk capital company Key Square Group and has previously, among other things, been the head of George Soros' fund management company.
"He will help me initiate a new golden age for the USA", Trump writes on his platform Truth Social.
Bessent has backed Trump during the election campaign and the incoming president has called him "one of the most brilliant men on Wall Street".
"Scott is generally respected as one of the world's leading international investors and geopolitical and economic strategist", Trump writes.
Rejected by Musk
Bessent, 62, was however rejected by Trump's friend Elon Musk last week for not being innovative enough, or too "business as usual" as Musk put it in English.
The future finance minister will be responsible for implementing Trump's economic plan. Trump has, among other things, promised tax cuts and a tougher stance on trade policy, not least towards China.
Bessent has previously stated that he decided to support Trump, among other things, due to promises of cuts in the state apparatus to tackle the USA's national debt.
"Project 2025" Profile
Trump is also nominating Russel Vought to once again become the head of the White House's powerful Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
Vought, who also headed OMB when Trump last sat in the White House, was involved in developing the ultra-conservative action plan "Project 2025" during the election campaign, which, among other things, pointed out measures to strengthen Trump's power after an election victory.
The Democrats made criticism of "Project 2025" a main issue and claimed that it posed a threat to democracy. The Trump campaign claimed that they had no connections to the plan.
Trump is also nominating Congresswoman Lori Chavez-DeRemer to become Labor Minister and Scott Turner, a former NFL football pro, to become Housing Minister.
The conservative think tank Heritage Foundation has been working on action plans with "wish lists" for what they want to see from Republican governments since the beginning of the 1980s.
These action plans usually have a significant impact on policy.
The action plan ahead of this year's election has been called Project 2025 and has been unusually comprehensive.
Among the wishes are to strengthen presidential power and change the state apparatus, abolish the Education Department and several other authorities, make abortions no longer part of healthcare, dismantle climate policy, abolish diversity initiatives, deport undocumented migrants, and lower taxes.
Source: Forbes, The New York Times
