Donald Trump could pick his Treasury Secretary this week. Here are 9 leading candidates

Former Soros Fund Management executive Scott Bessent is lining himself up as the top candidate for the Treasury Secretary position come Jan. 20.

Bessent, who is reportedly Trump’s “go-to economic adviser” and has friendly relationships with Trump family members and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance, met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Friday, according to Bloomberg. That conversation was not an interview for the Treasury role, however, people familiar with the process said.

Bessent told CNBC last week that there had been “no discussions about jobs” but that he will do whatever Trump asks.

The 62-year-old founder of Key Square Capital Management has donated millions to Republican causes over the years and even gave $1 million to Trump’s inaugural committee following the 2016 presidential election, according to The Wall Street Journal (NWSA).

Elon Musk, who has been tapped by Trump to lead the so-called Department of Government Efficency (DOGE) and has been at the president-elect’s side since the election, called Bessent the “business-as-usual” choice in a post on X Saturday. He instead threw his support behind Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick, who he said would “actually enact change.”

Howard Lutnick, CEO of investment giant Cantor Fitzgerald, has also been floated for the position, according to Bloomberg. Lutnick currently serves as co-chair of Trump’s transition team.

The 63-year-old, who has been at the helm of Cantor Fitzgerald since 1991, and Trump have a long friendship that began after the terrorist attacks on 9/11, when 658 Cantor Fitzgerald employees — including Lutnick’s brother — died after planes struck the World Trade Center towers where the firm’s offices were located.

This election cycle, Lutnick has donated or raised more than $75 million in support of Trump’s reelection bid, The New York Times (NYT) reported, citing an anonymous source familiar with the fundraising.

Politico has reported that the Wall Street CEO’s involvement has raised concerns within the Trump camp about whether he may be prioritizing his professional interests over his duties to the president-elect, namely when it comes to selecting people for key roles within the administration.

Trump has also become concerned that Lutnick may be using his role within the transition to his own ends, the Times reported, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter. The people said the battle between Lutnick and Bessent has become a “knife fight,” with Lutnick as the “primary aggressor.”

Former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh is a more recent addition to the jockeying for the top Treasury position, according to the Times.

Trump considered Warsh to lead the Fed back in 2017, opting instead for Jerome Powell — a decision he later came to regret. The president-elect heavily criticized Powell over interest rate cuts and the pace of easing during his first term, and even told Warsh that he “would have been very happy with [him].”

“I could have used you a little bit here,” Trump said to Warsh during a 2020 press conference. “Why weren’t you more forceful when you wanted that job?”

The 54-year-old is also in the running to replace Powell as Fed chair when his term expires in May 2026, the Times reported.

Marc Rowan, CEO and co-founder of Apollo Global Management (APO), is also in the running, per the Times.

Rowan ticks the box of a major Wall Street name, given his role at one of the largest private equity firms in the country, with $650 billion in assets. Rowan has a net worth of $8.6 billion, according to Forbes.

The 62-year-old executive took over as Apollo’s CEO in 2021, after co-founder Leon Black resigned, citing health reasons. It was revealed months earlier that Black had paid disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein $150 million.

Robert Lighthizer, who served as the U.S. Trade Representative during Trump’s first term and helped design his signature protectionist trade policy, may also be in the running for the Treasury spot.

Although the Financial Times reported that Trump offered the 77-year-old to reprise his prior role, sources told Reuters that Lighthizer had not been asked to lead trade policy in the coming administration. That could leave him open for the Treasury Secretary position.

Larry Kudlow, financial news commentator for Fox Business (FOXA) and former Director of the National Economic Council under Trump, is also in the running, according to Reuters and Politico.

Virginia Governor and former Carlyle Group (CG) co-CEO Glenn Youngkin is also reportedly on the shortlist for the role, according to Bloomberg.

Youngkin, who has served as governor since 2022, spent 25 years at the private equity firm and became co-CEO in 2018.

Despite having numerous conversations with the now-president-elect over the past several months, Youngkin told 13News Now that he is committed to serving out his full term as governor.

“When I spoke to [Trump] about this, he was very supportive of me finishing the job that I’ve committed to, and I am committed,” the 57-year-old said.

Tennessee Senator Bill Hagerty — and former U.S. ambassador to Japan under Trump — is reportedly in the running for secretary positions in both the Treasury and State departments.

Since 2016, Hagerty, a former private equity investor who worked on campaigns for both President George H.W. Bush and Mitt Romney, has become a “MAGA scion.”

According to Bloomberg, however, the Trump team is hesitant to place sitting senators in cabinet positions because they don’t want to reduce the number of Republicans in the chamber.

John Paulson, a hedge fund billionaire and founder of investment manager Paulson & Co., was also reportedly a leading candidate for the Treasury Secretary role in the Trump administration.

Paulson removed himself from the running for Treasury pick in a statement to The Wall Street Journal last Tuesday. The investor cited “complex financial obligations” preventing him from holding an official role, but said that he intends to remain “actively involved with the President’s economic team and helping in the implementation of President Trump’s outstanding policy proposals.”

The 68-year-old executive made much of his nearly $4 billion fortune from shorting subprime mortgages at the height of the 2007 credit bubble ahead of the financial crisis, according to Forbes.

“I’m willing to serve in any capacity that I could be helpful,” Paulson said when asked whether he would take the Treasury job in an interview with Semafor last month.

Paulson also predicted more targeted tariffs under a second Trump administration aimed at “industries that are subject to unfair trade competition” and “that are strategic, both for industry and defense.”

A longtime Trump donor, Paulson reportedly raised some $43 million at a fundraising event for Trump hosted at Paulson’s Palm Beach home in April, according to Bloomberg.