Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has a new plan in the fight to bring down historically high interest rates, and it’s got nothing to do with the Federal Reserve.

Scott Bessent, the new US Treasury Secretary under Trump’s administration, has a monster-sized mission. He’s been handed an economic puzzle that could break all financial markets and the entire global economy if he screws up.

The secretary replaces Rohit Chopra, who had aggressively sought to expand the bureau’s authority over banks and other financial firms.

Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill

President Donald Trump has tasked Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent with serving as the acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the agency said Monday.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Donald Trump is not asking the Federal Reserve to lower its short-term interest rates, but what he and the president do want is to bring down longer-term borrowing costs via 10-year Treasury yields.

Scott Bessent was sworn in as Treasury Secretary on Tuesday, taking the helm of one of the government agencies most critical to President Donald Trump’s sweeping economic agenda.