Treasury candidate factions vie to win over an undecided Trump

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump’s uncertainty about his slate of Treasury secretary candidates has led to rival factions once again trying to win his favor.

After a flurry of meetings this week, including discussions with new contenders, Trump has yet to make a decision on who will lead the charge for the sweeping economic agenda that he promised voters.

Apollo Global Management Inc. executive Marc Rowan pitched a tax policy vision that fell flat with some of the president-elect’s advisers, according to people familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the talks. A major tax cut bill is a top priority for the incoming administration, with much of Trump’s first-term cuts set to expire next year.

People involved in the process see another contender, former Federal Reserve Gov. Kevin Warsh, as wanting a job leading the U.S. central bank when the Fed chair role opens in 2026. Trump passed over Warsh when he nominated Jerome Powell during his first term to lead the Fed, a choice he has since lamented.

Warsh has been involved in transition efforts run out of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach since Election Day, largely helping develop economic policy plans. But until Trump’s advisers invited him to interview for Treasury secretary earlier this week, he had largely been seen as staying out of the administration to leave room to join the Fed, according to the people familiar.

The candidates for Treasury secretary — who also include Key Square Group LP founder Scott Bessent and Tennessee Sen. Bill Hagerty — have fallen in and out of favor with Trump over the past two weeks. Another contender, transition co-chair Howard Lutnick, was taken out of the running earlier this week when Trump named him to serve as Commerce secretary.

“President-Elect Trump is making decisions on who will serve in his second Administration. Those decisions will continue to be announced by him when they are made,” transition spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.

A spokesperson for Hagerty did not respond to a request for comment. Representatives for Bessent, Rowan and Warsh did not respond to requests for comment.

Since Election Day, Bessent has met with Trump multiple times and at least twice to discuss the jobs of Treasury secretary and director of the White House’s National Economic Council, another powerful post on a president’s economic team. The two jobs work closely together to move economic policy priorities through the executive branch and Congress, although it’s the Senate-confirmed Treasury chief who is traditionally the administration’s liaison to markets and the Fed.

While a decision on Treasury could have come this week after a series of meetings, the sudden withdrawal of Matt Gaetz as Trump’s choice for attorney general on Thursday, and his quick replacement with Pam Bondi, consumed much of the discussion at Mar-a-Lago in recent days.

The former Florida congressman bowed out after coming under intense scrutiny over an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct.

Bessent, who has been floated for the Treasury role since March, has a deep bench of supporters that come from both Wall Street and Trump’s inner circle. That includes: former NEC director Larry Kudlow, long-time Trump adviser Steve Bannon and Hayman Capital Management’s Kyle Bass. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s Jamie Dimon thinks highly of Bessent for Treasury secretary but does not consider him the only good candidate, Bloomberg reported last week.

Hedge fund founder Bessent and Warsh, who previously worked in investment banking at Morgan Stanley, are seen by market observers as choices that would come with deep knowledge of public markets. The U.S. Treasury secretary oversees the $28 trillion market for government debt, and often steps in to calm markets in the event of exorbitant volatility or a liquidity crisis.

Rowan, meanwhile, would be a rare pick from the world of private equity.

“He would be an unorthodox pick to run Treasury,” said Gregory Faranello, head of U.S. rates trading and strategy for AmeriVet Securities. He noted that those who have experience at hedge funds, trading and investment banking have more daily involvement in global capital flows, payments, Treasuries issuance, among other areas in finance.

“The expectations of the Treasury seat are different when you think about the plumbing of the financial system,” he said.

Those working on Trump’s transition efforts have balked at how complex a task it would be for Rowan to unwind his investments at Apollo in order to take the Treasury post. He is the fourth-largest Apollo shareholder, with a stake of about 6% that’s worth almost $6 billion, according to public filings. That excludes his stakes in Apollo’s funds.

Bannon assailed Rowan and his private equity background on his War Room podcast Friday.

“Apollo is one of the Wall Street oligarch predators. They’re predatory capitalism,” Bannon said. “I don’t know if it makes sense for President Trump’s program if you have a guy like Rowan, that represents Apollo.”