Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent signals a serious commitment to Trump’s economic agenda by appointing seasoned Wall Street economist Joseph Lavorgna to a top Treasury role.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is assembling his team to deliver on President Trump’s economic agenda.
He just brought back a familiar face from Trump’s first administration.
And Scott Bessent just made one key appointment that shows Trump means business.
Bessent taps Trump’s former economic advisor for key Treasury role
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced on June 6 that he was bringing Joseph Lavorgna back into the Trump administration in a senior position.
Lavorgna will serve as Counselor to the Secretary, giving him direct access to one of the most powerful economic positions in the federal government.
The appointment signals that Bessent is serious about implementing Trump’s America First economic policies with experienced hands who understand the President’s vision.
Lavorgna isn’t just another Washington insider looking for a government paycheck.
He’s a "well-known and highly respected economist" who has "spent more than two decades in the financial services industry," according to the Treasury Department announcement.
Most importantly, Lavorgna already has experience working directly with President Trump on economic policy.
During Trump’s first term, Lavorgna "took a one-year leave of absence to serve in the first Trump Administration as Special Assistant to the President and Chief Economist of the National Economic Council."
That means he was right in the room when Trump was crafting the economic policies that delivered record low unemployment, rising wages, and a booming stock market before the pandemic hit.
Wall Street veteran brings serious credentials to Treasury
Lavorgna’s appointment shows that Bessent is prioritizing competence and experience over political connections.
Before joining the Trump administration, Lavorgna was coming from a high-level position at SMBC Nikko Securities where he served as "Managing Director and Chief Economist for the Americas."
Prior to that role, he was "Chief Economist at Natixis CIB," another major financial institution.
His Wall Street credentials go back even further to his time at Deutsche Bank Securities, where he was "perennially ranked in the prestigious Institutional Investor All-Star Fixed Income Survey."
Getting ranked in that survey year after year means Lavorgna was consistently among the best economic analysts in the entire financial industry.
That’s exactly the kind of talent Trump needs to execute his ambitious economic agenda over the next four years.
Lavorgna also served as "a former Senior Fellow at the America First Policy Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank."
The America First Policy Institute was founded to develop policy proposals that advance Trump’s vision for the country.
So Lavorgna has been thinking about Trump’s economic agenda even when he was out of government during the Biden years.
The right man for the job at the right time
Trump’s economic team is facing enormous challenges as they work to undo the damage from four years of Biden’s failed policies.
Inflation devastated American families under Biden, even though it’s come down from its peak.
The national debt exploded to dangerous levels.
America’s manufacturing base continued to hemorrhage jobs to China and other countries.
Biden’s green energy mandates drove up costs for businesses and consumers.
Lavorgna understands these challenges because he lived through the contrast between Trump’s successful first-term policies and Biden’s disasters.
He saw firsthand how Trump’s tax cuts, deregulation, and America First trade policies delivered results for working families.
Now he gets the chance to help implement Trump’s even more ambitious second-term agenda.
The President has promised to extend and expand his tax cuts, unleash American energy production, and use tariffs to bring manufacturing jobs back to America.
Those are complex policies that require someone who understands both economics theory and how financial markets actually work.
Lavorgna brings both to the table.
Bessent assembling a world-class economic team
The Lavorgna appointment shows that Treasury Secretary Bessent is taking a serious approach to staffing his department.
Rather than handing out jobs to political cronies, he’s bringing in people with real expertise who can get things done.
Lavorgna’s academic credentials are also impressive – he’s "a graduate of Vassar College" and has the intellectual firepower to handle complex economic analysis.
But more importantly, he has real-world experience from over two decades in the financial services industry.
He knows how businesses actually operate and how government policies affect real people and real companies.
That combination of academic training, private sector experience, and government service is exactly what Trump needs to deliver on his economic promises.
The appointment also sends a message to Wall Street and international markets that the Trump administration is going to pursue serious, well-thought-out economic policies.
Having respected economists like Lavorgna in key positions gives credibility to Trump’s agenda and could help build support for his policies among business leaders.
Getting ready to deliver results
Lavorgna’s appointment as Counselor to the Secretary puts him in position to have significant influence over Treasury Department policy.
As one of Bessent’s top advisors, he’ll be involved in major decisions about tax policy, financial regulation, and international economic issues.
His experience from Trump’s first term gives him institutional knowledge about how to navigate the federal bureaucracy and get things done.
He knows which policies worked and which ones didn’t.
He understands how to coordinate between different government agencies to implement complex economic initiatives.
That experience will be invaluable as Trump moves quickly to reverse Biden’s economic damage and get America back on track.
The American people voted for Trump because they want results, not excuses.
They want their paychecks to go further and their businesses to thrive.
They want America to be economically strong and independent.
Lavorgna’s appointment shows that Trump and Bessent are assembling the team they need to deliver those results.
With experienced professionals like Lavorgna back in key positions, Trump’s economic agenda has a much better chance of success.
American workers and families deserve nothing less.
