Scott Bessent, the investor chosen by President-elect Donald Trump to be his Treasury secretary, will withdraw from his hedge fund Key Square Group and other investments, in line with a letter to the Treasury Department's ethics office.
Bessent outlined the steps he would take to “avoid any actual or apparent conflict of interest if I were confirmed for the position of Treasury Secretary,” the letter said.
The asset manager whom Trump appointed as top U.S. economic policymaker on Nov. 23 said he would step down from his post on the Bessent-Freeman Family Foundation.
He also plans to shut the investment firm he founded, Key Square Capital Management, in line with the New York Times, which first reported Bessent's divestitures.
Reuters reported in November that Key Square could possibly be dissolved, sold or put into “quiet mode” if Bessent took a job in the brand new administration.
A spokesman for Bessent declined to comment.
The U.S. Senate Finance Committee said Friday that it will hold a hearing on Bessent's nomination on Jan. 16.
On Friday, Trump reiterated the financial deal he made during his first term, handing day-to-day management of his multibillion-dollar real estate, hotel, golf, media and licensing portfolio to his children as he moved into the White House.
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