Lutnick and Bessent’s battle for Trump Treasury turns bitter

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Howard Lutnick and Scott Bessent are at the centre of an increasingly bitter battle to be Donald Trump’s Treasury secretary, as Wall Street factions fight to discredit each other’s candidate.

Several financiers who supported Trump’s election bid moved on Monday to kill off Lutnick’s chances, saying he lacked the experience for the position and was abusing his position as a leader of the transition team to promote himself for the job.

Bessent came under attack later on Monday, when a purported record of poor returns at his hedge fund Key Square Group was circulated across chat groups on Wall Street and beyond, appearing to cast doubt on his financial acumen.

Bessent is known for making a windfall betting on the Japanese yen and British pound for philanthropist George Soros.

One person familiar with the deepening rivalry described the contest as a “pissing match” between the Lutnick and Bessent camps. Others said the friction could point to deepening divisions within Trump’s inner circle.

The spat erupted two days after Elon Musk threw his support behind Lutnick’s candidacy, saying the Cantor Fitzgerald chief would “actually enact change”, in contrast with Bessent — the “business-as-usual choice”.

The post on Saturday from Trump’s close confidant sparked alarm among some Wall Street executives, who had backed Bessent as a more predictable candidate, and rejected Lutnick as out of his depth.

“It’s unfortunate that Howard . . . is now abusing his position to put his candidacy ahead of everybody else,” said a person close to Trump. “I’m sure the president will not be bullied into picking him — it would be a huge mistake.”

Another Trump supporter on Wall Street described Lutnick as a “swashbuckler” who had been vital in the Republican candidate’s run for the White House, but was ill suited for a job with huge sway over the world’s biggest economy and global bond markets.

The rising opposition to Lutnick’s candidacy, disclosed in interviews with top Wall Street executives, has made the battle for the Treasury job the thorniest yet for Trump, who has appointed much of his proposed cabinet with breakneck speed in the past week.

One Trump donor said the Cantor Fitzgerald boss had led a “Cheney-style selection committee that has ignored the president and focused on himself”, referring to the search committee run by Dick Cheney to find a running mate for George W Bush, which picked Cheney himself.

“The president-elect won’t be playing the Lutnick game any longer,” said the top donor, who supports Bessent.

The bitter fight between Bessent and Lutnick initially focused on the candidates’ stance on trade, with Trump seeking commitment to his hawkish plan to ratchet up tariffs on imports.

A pro-Lutnick Trump donor said the Cantor Fitzgerald boss and the president-elect were “fully aligned” on tariffs and his economic agenda to boost the economy and achieve “energy dominance”.

“President Trump and Howard Lutnick are hand-in-glove on these critically important initiatives and Lutnick understands the chain of command.”

In an effort to discredit Bessent on Monday, anonymous people circulated an account purporting to show poor returns from the investor’s hedge fund. The Financial Times could not verify the accuracy of the numbers. Semafor first reported the document in circulation.

Top financiers backing Bessent said he had the experience and credibility to deliver key tenets of Trump’s economic agenda. He has also won over some former opponents on Wall Street.

“I hate Trump but I love my country and I want us to succeed . . . Bessent is a person that we can all live with,” said a top Democratic Party donor. 

The pitched battle for the top economy job has also forced Trump to widen the search for a candidate.

It now includes former Federal Reserve governor Kevin Warsh, private equity boss Marc Rowan of Apollo Global Management, Senator Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, and Robert Lighthizer, Trump’s former US Trade Representative. 

Rowan’s potential candidacy was welcomed by some Wall Street executives, but they warned it would be hard for him to step away from his day job managing a firm with $700bn assets under management.  

Warsh, who is advising Trump’s transition team on the economy, is considered a candidate to replace Jay Powell when the Fed chair’s term expires in 2026.

A spokesperson for Lutnick did not respond to a request for comment; nor did Trump’s transition team, Warsh, Lighthizer or Hagerty. Apollo and a spokesperson for Bessent declined to comment.

At the Palm Beach airport close to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home, outgoing Utah Senator Mitt Romney and Florida congressman Brian Mast were chatting waiting for their flight. 

Romney, a Trump critic, said he would “spare any thoughts” on the Treasury contenders since he would be a private citizen and out of office next year. Mast said Lutnick was “my bet” but would not elaborate.