Billionaire Scott Bessent now highest-ranking out gay man in US office history as Trump’s Treasury Sec
Bessent said of his nomination: "President Trump chose me because he believes I’m the best candidate — not because of my sexual preference”
By Gary Grimes

Billionaire political donor Scott Bessent has been confirmed as Donald Trump‘s choice of Secretary of the Treasury, making him the highest ranking publicly gay person to in the history of US public office.
Bessent was nominated by Trump for the position last year in a move that surprised many pundits, given Trump’s frequently anti-LBGTQ+ stance. Bessent had donated millions to Trump during his campaign and advised him on his economic policy.
The businessman had also previously donated to a number of Democratic presidential candidates including Hilary Clinton, Al Gore and Barack Obama.
Speaking at his confirmation hearing earlier this month, as per Bloomberg, Bessent said: “I sit here knowing that President Trump chose me because he believes I’m the best candidate — not because of my sexual preference.”
Trump didn’t pick Scott Bessent because he is gay.
— David Leatherwood 🇺🇸 (@brokebackUSA) January 28, 2025
He picked him because he is the most qualified.
And that’s how it should be. pic.twitter.com/GdFoKTYpv0
Bessent also said at the hearing that this would be his third attempt at public office after being unable to attend the US Naval Academy or join the Foreign Service as his sexuality precluded him from doing so.
“Scott has long been a strong advocate of the America First Agenda,” Trump said in a statement in November. “On the eve of our Great Country’s 250th Anniversary, he will help me usher in a new Golden Age for the United States, as we fortify our position as the World’s leading Economy, Center of Innovation and Entrepreneurialism, Destination for Capital, while always, and without question, maintaining the U.S. Dollar as the Reserve Currency of the World.”
Bessent is the first publicly gay man to be a Senate-confirmed Cabinet member in a Republican administration. He is also only the second publicly gay man to be a Senate-confirmed Cabinet member writ large. Pete Buttigieg was the first after being confirmed as Secretary of Transportation for the Biden administration.
In 2011, Bessent married his husband John Freedman, a New York City prosecutor. The couple have two children via surrogacy.
He is the founder of the Key Square Group, a global macro-investment firm, though he announced he will severe ties with the group in order to avoid conflicts in his new role, reports the New York Times.