Hedge fund executive Scott Bessent survived an internal squabble over the role of Treasury secretary, a key position that will face almost immediate deadlines and pressures.

If confirmed, Bessent would runn the department that manages the nation's finances as well as its tax agency, the Internal Revenue Service.

Scott Bessent, the founder of the Connecticut-based hedge fund Key Square Group, had been making a full-court press for the post.

Bessent spent his career in finance and gives Wall Street an advocate for tax reform and deregulation. Some call his nomination a 'relief' and say it could reduce the chance of severe tariffs.

If confirmed, Bessent will be tasked with implementing any tax cuts a Republican-controlled Congress may pursue.

President-elect Trump selected billionaire investor Scott Bessent to lead the Treasury Department on Friday as the former president continues to call for an increase in tariffs and major shifts in the country’s global trade operations.

Key Square Group founder Scott Bessent speaks at a campaign event for Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump in Asheville, North Carolina, U.S. August 14, 2024. REUTERS/Jonathan Drake/File Photo/File Photo (Reuters) - President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for U.