Op-Ed: Alex Titus: Donald Trump picks the Treasury dream team in Scott Bessent and Mike Faulkender

Treasury needs a serious course correction and pivot to policy areas focused on unleashing economic prosperity. Thankfully, Scott Bessent and Mike Faulkender will deliver just that.

President Donald J. Trump announced that Wall Street executive Scott Bessent and economist Mike Faulkender will lead the Department of Treasury as Secretary and Deputy Secretary, respectively.

Bessent and Faulkender will play a key role in helping to carry out the President’s growth agenda while guiding the country through murky economic waters. Through these picks, the president continues to build an economic dream team focused on recreating the best economy America has ever seen.

Bessent and Faulkender do not have an easy task in front of them. The U.S. has been rocked by sky-high inflation on everyday goods and a lagging job market directly due to the policies of the Biden administration.

Prices increased by 20.3 percent, and real wages fell by 3.4 percent under President Joe Biden. Housing, groceries, cars, and other goods are unaffordable for the working class and remain at record highs. The Department of Treasury, arguably the government’s most important economic vehicle, hasn’t adequately addressed the crisis instead focusing on using Treasury to advance progressive social programs.

Treasury oversees capital markets and controls, tax and economic policy, and America’s leadership in international venues like the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the G7.

Instead of focusing on core Treasury functions like economic growth, the Biden-Harris Treasury Department spent crucial time and staff resources promoting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and climate financing vehicles.

Current Secretary of Treasury Janet Yellen designated one of her top advisors as “Counselor for Racial Equity,” a senior front office position, and set up an Equity Hub to lead “Equity Action Plans.” Grandiose climate programs also served as a top priority domestically and internationally through the so-called “Climate Hub” and Build Back Better World initiative, which was eventually scrapped.

On the important issue of inflation that has left workers and businesses reeling, Yellen’s team undermined Biden’s stated goal of slowing its rise. The Treasury took part in what has been coined as “backdoor stimulus” by economists Nouriel Roubini and Steve Miran, through short- term debt issuances that served the same function as quantitative easing. Miran and Roubini concluded this accounted for an approximately “one-point cut to the Fed’s policy rate,” which contradicted and affected the Fed’s efforts to slow inflation.

Treasury needs a serious course correction and pivot to policy areas focused on unleashing economic prosperity. Thankfully, Bessent and Faulkender will deliver just that.

Bessent is a markets and financial expert by background. He quickly climbed the ranks in the private sector, eventually becoming Chief Investment Officer of Soros Fund Management before starting his own multi-billion dollar fund, Key Square Group.

Bessent has a strong understanding of capital flows, global macroeconomics, and burdensome regulations that limit economic growth and domestic investment. American businesses and workers will benefit greatly from his significant private sector experience and commitment to the president’s plan to drive economic growth. He has also pledged to fully implement the president’s tariffs on countries that impose unfair trade practices and steal American intellectual property like the People’s Republic of China.

Bessent’s unique private sector experience will be complemented well by his deputy Mike Faulkender who comes with a wealth of Treasury experience.

Faulkender played a substantial role in helping to prevent economic collapse during the COVID-19 pandemic. He helped draft and negotiate the CARES Act and took the lead on the implementation and rollout of the Paycheck Protection Program. Such programs were vital, giving a lifeline to American workers and preventing businesses from shuttering. Faulkender performed exceptionally under intense pressure during a major market-moving event that saw a historic bounce back in the stock and job market. Upon concluding service, he was awarded the Alexander Hamilton Award for Distinguished Leadership, the highest accolade given to officials at Treasury.

Bessent and Faulkender are two heavy hitters who will relentlessly pursue the president’s economic agenda through sound policy and by bringing the best and brightest to the agency. Businesses and workers should be ecstatic over their selection. The president could not have chosen a better team to help supercharge America’s economic comeback, continuing the trend of high-caliber selections to lead key agencies in his second term.

Alex Titus served as an advisor in the Trump administration.