Former President Donald Trump is reportedly considering GOP-mega donor and TikTok investor Jeff Yass for Treasury Secretary, should he win a second term.
The revelation was part of a Bloomberg report from Wednesday by Jennifer Jacobs and Jordan Fabian, who detailed Trump’s shortlist for Treasury Secretary, citing “people with knowledge of the discussions.”
“Trump has talked about hedge fund titan John Paulson as Treasury secretary if he wins the November presidential election, and has held a series of meetings with potential cabinet picks, according to people familiar with the matter,” began the report.
The article made clear that “the conversations were informal and any discussions about a possible cabinet are preliminary” and also noted that Trump “hasn’t made any decisions” about a future cabinet and “is known to change his mind.” The report goes on to list, however, the other top contenders, according to sources in Trump world:
Other potential names in the mix for the top Treasury post, should Trump defeat incumbent President Joe Biden, include former US trade representative Robert Lighthizer, Susquehanna International Group LLP founder Jeff Yass and Key
Square Group LP founder Scott Bessent, according to people with knowledge of the discussions.
Yass has been in the headlines in recent days as Trump reversed course on his support for banning TikTok shortly after the two met. Yass is a hedge fund billionaire who owns a $15 billion stake in TikTok’s parent company ByteDance.
In 2020, Trump led the effort to ban TikTok in the U.S., citing national security concerns, but recently came out against the renewed effort to ban the app.
On Monday morning, Trump denied on CNBC that he spoke to Yass about TikTok when the two met at a Club For Growth retreat last week. “No, I didn’t,” Trump said, claiming he and Yass only spoke briefly. “He never mentioned TikTok.”
Former Trump campaign manager and White House adviser Steve Bannon suggested that the reason behind Trump’s conversion on TikTok was indeed Yass. Bannon shared on social media an Axios article titled, “Inside Trump’s TikTok flip-flop,” and added, “Simple: Yass Coin.”