How Scott Bessent Won the ‘Knife Fight’ for Treasury

Wall Street Journal: “Trump told friends shortly before the Bessent announcement that he trusted him to execute the administration’s policies more than any of the other contenders. Trump’s advisers also said that the president-elect, who is known to take appearance into account when hiring, felt that the gray-haired, bespectacled Bessent looked the part.”

“But Bessent’s glide path was upended by an 11th-hour play for the job by Cantor Fitzgerald Chief Executive Howard Lutnick, which culminated in Elon Musk signaling to his 200 million social media followers that he backed Lutnick and viewed Bessent as a ‘business-as-usual choice.’ As the deliberations dragged on, Trump at times expressed frustration with his options—and the many leaks about the process—prompting him to bring additional candidates into the mix.”

Axios: What to know about Scott Bessent, Trump’s Treasury pick.