The US Senate confirmed Scott Bessent as the next secretary of the Treasury, becoming the chief economic spokesman for President Donald Trump and his sweeping agenda of tax cuts, deregulation and trade rebalancing.

The first openly gay person in the role has the delicate balancing act of cutting taxes and curbing deficits while putting forward a plan on tariffs that doesn’t jeopardize growth.

Hedge fund manager Scott Bessent has been confirmed as the 79th secretary of the Treasury Department in a bipartisan Senate vote. The Senate voted 68-29 on Monday to confirm Bessent, who was President Donald Trump’s pick to succeed former Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.