Donald Trump narrows in on Marc Rowan for Treasury secretary

Good morning and welcome to White House Watch. Today let’s talk about:

• Trump’s potential Treasury pick

• The ethics investigation into Matt Gaetz

• How the Middle East is preparing for Trump

Marc Rowan has become Donald Trump’s shiny new economic toy.

He suddenly emerged as a top contender for Treasury secretary, and rushed back from Hong Kong to meet Trump in Florida yesterday to make his pitch for the crucial role [free to read].

Rowan, chief executive of private equity firm Apollo Global Management, prepared extensively for his interview and has the support of some top Wall Street donors and Trump confidantes, according to people familiar with the situation. 

With Trump’s team embroiled in infighting over his Treasury pick, this cabinet role is one of the few remaining positions Trump has left to fill. 

With Howard Lutnick now out of the way, Rowan is jockeying for the role with hedge fund manager Scott Bessent, who is also being considered to lead the National Economic Council. Former Federal Reserve governor Kevin Warsh is still in the mix, as is Tennessee senator Bill Hagerty, who was hanging out with Trump and Elon Musk at a SpaceX rocket launch on Tuesday. 

Rowan advised Trump’s first administration on emergency measures to calm financial markets in the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, but he really shot to prominence in political circles after playing a lead role in ousting president Liz McGill from the University of Pennsylvania amid anti-Israel protests on campus. Both Rowan and Trump are Penn alumni.

Rowan, who co-founded Apollo, took over as its sole head after the downfall of Leon Black, who had close ties to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. He has been positioning Apollo — a titan of alternative asset management — for what he sees as a coming new age on Wall Street, in which the power of the banking industry is dwindling.

Team 47: who’s made the cut

Matthew Whitaker, who has little foreign policy experience and served as acting attorney-general in Trump’s first term, has been chosen to be US ambassador to Nato.

Howard Lutnick, CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, has been tapped for commerce secretary, which would put him in charge of imposing the sweeping tariffs Trump promised voters.

What we’re hearing

Middle Eastern officials are trying to get Trump’s ear as the war-torn region braces itself for a staunchly pro-Israel US agenda under the president-elect.

In Lebanon, many are pinning their hopes on auto tycoon Massad Boulos, who is the father-in-law of Trump’s youngest daughter, Tiffany. No other Lebanese voice is as well placed in the president-elect’s circle.

“Definitely the fact that he’s Lebanese, wants [what is best for] the long-term interests of his country, this could be a positive,” one Lebanese official told the FT’s Raya Jalabi. “But we have to wait and see.”

Lebanese officials said Boulos had not contacted the government in an official capacity or with a mandate from Trump. But he recently met Lebanon’s economy minister Amin Salam, among other notable figures, in Washington.

Meanwhile, Arab states are banking on Saudi Arabia’s close ties to Trump to temper the president-elect’s support for Israel. Arab officials are worried that Trump might approve any moves by Israel to annex the occupied West Bank, occupy Gaza or escalate tensions with Iran. 

But they hope that Riyadh can leverage Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s relationship with Trump, the president-elect’s desire for financial deals and his anticipated push for a “grand bargain” that would lead Saudi Arabia and Israel to normalise relations.

“The key player in the region is Saudi Arabia because of their known relations with him, so it will be the linchpin of any regional actions the US might decide to do,” an Arab diplomat told the FT’s Andrew England.

Transitional times: the latest headlines

• The House ethics committee has refused to release the details of its investigation into alleged sexual misconduct by Matt Gaetz, Trump’s nominee for attorney-general [free to read].

• RFK Jr is hatching plans to strip a doctors’ lobbying group of control over a lucrative part of Medicare billing.

• Wall Street’s “Trump bump” has created a new billionaire: star dealmaker Paul Taubman, whose stake in boutique PJT Partners has gone above $1bn.

• Here’s how oil bosses stacked Trump’s cabinet with their favourite sons.

• Palantir has become a “Trump trade” since the election, adding $23bn to its market capitalisation as investors bet on the secretive defence contractor.

Viewpoints

• There is no way Trump’s tariff policies will reduce the overall trade deficit, says Martin Wolf, and will ultimately “lead to a rapid decline in world trade and output.”

• Marieke Blom, chief economist at ING, however, writes that the doom-mongering on Trump’s tariff plans isn’t warranted, and creates its own risks.

• Anjana Ahuja writes that RFK Jr’s cabinet appointment marks a new Republican war on science; global researchers need fresh courage to fight back.

• The FT editorial board thinks Ukraine’s allies need to provide all the aid they can before Trump takes office, as Kyiv and Moscow battle to strengthen their hands ahead of any negotiations.