Maggie Haberman Sources Say Trump T-Sec Race Has Become ‘Knife Fight’ After Top Pick ‘Got On Trump’s Nerves’

(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

New York Times journalist Maggie Haberman reports that President-elect Donald Trump is considering new candidates for Treasury Secretary after souring on his top candidate Howard Lutnick.

Trump is considering nominating two new candidates, including the former Federal Reserve governor Kevin Warsh and Wall Street billionare Marc Rowan. The president-elect was expected to pick either Lutnick, chairman of Trump’s transition team, or Scott Bessent, a former money manager for George Soros.

However, Haberman claims that Trump has had a “second thoughts” about the two candidates while expressing frustration that Lutnick has “been around him too much.” Moreover, a source told Haberman that the battle between Lutnick and Bessent has turned into a real “knife fight” as Trump weighs who to nominate.

Per The Times:

Mr. Lutnick, who has been running Mr. Trump’s transition operation, has gotten on Mr. Trump’s nerves lately. Mr. Trump has privately expressed frustration that Mr. Lutnick has been hanging around him too much and that he has been manipulating the transition process for his own ends. A person familiar with the process, who spoke on condition of anonymity, described the battle between Mr. Lutnick and Mr. Bessent as a knife fight, with Mr. Lutnick as the primary aggressor.

Mr. Bessent is said to still be under consideration, and has also been raised by people in Mr. Trump’s economic circles as a possible contender to lead the White House’s National Economic Council. Elon Musk, a close adviser to the president-elect, on Sunday called Mr. Bessent a “business-as-usual” choice for Treasury secretary in a post on his social media platform, X, while throwing his support behind Mr. Lutnick.

Trump is expected to invite the new contenders for the role, Warsh and Rowan, for a meeting at Mar-a-Lago later this week.

Karoline Leavitt, the incoming White House press secretary, told The Times in a statement, “President-elect Trump is making decisions on who will serve in his second administration. Those decisions will continue to be announced by him when they are made.”