Trump's treasury tussle: The search for a Wall Street-friendly populist

Donald Trump won the White House on a promise to turn around the US economy. Now, he’s struggling to appoint a lieutenant to tackle the job.

In contrast to his many hasty appointments to the rest of his cabinet, Trump has been hesitant to choose a treasury secretary. His uncertainty stems from his desire to find someone loyal to his populist economic agenda – unlike his first term treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin, who often opposed him – but who won’t spook tariff-wary Wall Street.

Wait, what does the treasury secretary do? The treasury secretary is the economy’s quarterback, responsible for overseeing the country’s international trade policy. They direct the domestic and global economic agenda, as well as tax and tariff policies.

Who are the contenders? Trump is reportedly considering former Federal Reserve governor Kevin Warsh and Wall Street titan Marc Rowan, who emerged as possible frontrunners after financiers Howard Lutnick and Scott Bessent no longer seemed like obvious choices amid rumors they may have lost a bit of their shine. Trump accused Lutnick, who has been leading his transition operation, of manipulating the process in his favor. Bessent may still be in the running, but after a knife fight with Lutnick last week, Trump has started looking elsewhere.

He is allegedly not considering his former trade adviser Robert Lighthizer, out of fear that his open embrace of tariffs would stall the momentum on Wall Street since his victory – an indication that Trump may sacrifice portions of his tariff plans if it means keeping the financial sector happy. However, Lighthizer may still hold another senior trade or economic role. Trump’s final decision is expected to be made after he meets with the candidates at Mar-a-Lago later this week.