Billionaires Elon Musk and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. sided with investor Howard Lutnick on Saturday in the debate over who President-elect Donald Trump should pick as treasury secretary, Reuters reported.
Musk’s endorsement has added to the debate over his Treasury Secretary pick. While Trump has yet to announce a nominee for the role, Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Lutnick and investor Scott Bessent are serious contenders for the job. Kyle Bass noted in a recent X post that Scott Bessent is far more qualified to run the U.S. Treasury than Howard Lutnick.
“Scott understands markets, economics, people and geopolitics better than anyone I have ever interacted with. The markets anticipated Bessent’s choice. Lutnick is not Trump’s answer,” he said.
'We Need to Change,' Musk Says
Musk, however, has a different opinion. He believes Bessent is a business-as-usual option, while Howard Lutnick would actually enact change to address the country's financial challenges. He also voiced that "Business as usual is bankrupting America, so we need to change one way or another."
The Tesla CEO also called on the public and policymakers to weigh in on the Treasury Secretary's decision so that feedback can help Trump make an informed choice.
RFK Jr, Chris Pavlovski Back to Lutnick
Notably, Trump's pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has also endorsed Lutnick, posting on his own X account,
“Bitcoin is the currency of freedom, a hedge against inflation for middle-class Americans. Bitcoin will have no stronger advocate than Howard Lutnik,” he wrote.
While Lutnick's approach was seen as disruptive, Bessent appeared to have a steady, market-friendly stance. His support for tariffs and strengthening the domestic economy has been met with both applause and criticism. Scott Bessent, on the other hand, has proven to have exceptional knowledge of global markets and economic skills.
In response to Musk's support for Lutnick, Rumble CEO Chris Pavlovski also highlighted Lutnick's pivotal role in taking Rumble public and his steadfast defense of free speech.
Scott Bessent's odds rise to 87%
Despite the Tesla CEO's support for Howard, Scott Bessent's odds of being nominated as Treasury Secretary have risen to 87%. Both Bessent and Lutnick are respected on Wall Street and have publicly supported Trump and his economic policies, including massive and unprecedented tariffs that remain largely unpopular with mainstream economists.
People familiar with the decision-making process say allies of both Bessent and Lutnick have been lobbying Trump, creating tension and increasing the chances of another candidate emerging.
Role of the Minister of Finance
Regardless of party, Treasury secretaries have pursued policies that strengthen the U.S. dollar, promote economic growth, signal stability to the stock and bond markets, and seek to maintain the stability of the tax base, which flows into Treasury coffers to fund federal government operations.
This role will be extremely important in the upcoming Trump administration, where the president-elect's campaign promise was to impose a comprehensive tariff of 10% or 20% on all imports into the United States, as well as tariffs of up to 60% on all imports from China.
