Finance News Service, November 7 (Editor Huang Junzhi) With the dust settled on Trump's victory in the US election, the market is not only concerned about what policies Trump will implement after taking office, but also interested in how key positions in the US government will undergo a "major shake-up." After all, in Washington, personnel is policy.

Below are the new candidates for key positions in Trump's second government:

"Biggest Winner" Musk

Trump previously promised that if he won in November, he would appoint Musk as the head of a new "Government Efficiency Committee." The group led by Musk will propose cuts in federal spending to Trump.

Musk responded to this by stating that if Trump wins this year's US presidential election, he can help reduce the federal budget by at least $2 trillion, fundamentally reshaping government expenditures. However, Musk did not provide detailed information on how to achieve such a scale of spending cuts.

Some analysts pointed out that if Musk takes on more government work, it may reduce his working time at Tesla, which could have implications for the electric car manufacturer and remains to be seen.

The Bank of Japan will raise interest rates next time?

Federal Reserve Chairman Powell's term will end in May 2026, and Trump has already stated that he will not reappoint Powell, and has frequently criticized him in the past. He recently stated in August that Powell is "sometimes too early, sometimes too late" in policy decisions. So, who will be his successor?

According to reports from multiple media sources, the name mentioned most frequently as a candidate for the Federal Reserve Chairman is Kevin Hassett, who served as the White House Council of Economic Advisers Chairman during Trump's first term.

Including several sources closely related to Trump's campaign team, such as Trump's senior economic advisor and CEO of the hedge fund Key Square Group, Scott Bessent, suggest that Hassett may be Trump's final choice for chairman.

In addition, Kevin Warsh, a former Fed governor and current research fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, as well as Arthur Laffer, an economic advisor to President Ronald Reagan, are also seen as potential candidates for the position.

Trump previously stated that he believes the President should have a "say" in the Fed's interest rate policy, and hinted that the decision to cut rates by 0.5 percentage points in September was for political reasons. Although he later clarified that he is not ordering the Fed to do anything, he believes he should have the right to comment on rate movements.

It is understood that the President's nomination for the Federal Reserve Chairman must obtain Senate approval. With the Republicans controlling the Senate, Trump's choice should not face significant obstacles.

According to estimates and reports from multiple American media outlets, the current Republican Party holds 52 out of the 100 seats in the Senate, giving them control. Additionally, they have more seats in the House of Representatives. However, there is currently no majority party in the House.

Department of the Treasury

The nominees for the Secretary of the Treasury under the "Trump 2.0" administration will include Scott Besent and the American hedge fund billionaire, "Trump's patron" John Paulson. They both support Trump's plan to impose tariffs on imported products, but see it as an important negotiating tool. In other words, the effectiveness of this tool may be weakened if other countries make concessions.

Besent previously stated that he supports a strong US dollar, which is a long-standing US policy, and described Trump as "supporting the dollar as a reserve currency." On Wednesday, he also previewed the "economic script" for Trump's second term, listing plans to loosen regulations and promote energy dominance.

He also mentioned that the top priority would be to 'stop' the 'Inflation Reduction Act', especially the provision to 'provide a $7,500 tax credit for electric vehicles.'

Paulson is a long-time donor to President Trump's election campaigns. He previously stated that he will work with Tesla CEO Musk to jointly develop measures to significantly reduce federal expenditures.

This staunch supporter of Donald Trump stated that his top priority is to extend Trump's expiring 2017 tax cuts policy. His next goal is to 'work with Musk to reduce federal spending,' particularly by canceling subsidies for green energy within the Biden administration's 'Inflation Reduction Act'.

"All tax subsidies for inefficient and uneconomic energy sources such as solar energy and wind energy should be eliminated, which will reduce (financial) expenditures," he said.

Department of Energy

According to Mark Menezes, who served as Deputy Secretary of Energy during Trump's first term, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum is not seeking reelection, but is "most likely" to lead the Department of Energy in Trump's second term.

Menezes, the current Chairman and CEO of the United States Energy Association, said that it makes sense to choose Burgum because North Dakota is an oil & gas producing state, and the recent trend is to appoint former governors to this position.

It is understood that former Texas Governor Rick Perry served in the position during Trump's first term, and former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm is the current Energy Secretary under President Biden.

Menezes said, "When you bring in a former governor to the institution, you gain a lot of skills."

At the same time, Menezes himself, as well as Dan Brouillette who served as Trump's Energy Secretary after Perry stepped down in December 2019, are also considered potential candidates.

Editor / jayden