One of the more under-reported aspects of how President-elect Donald Trump will run the economy will be the influence of those who don’t have a position of power publicly, but remain in his kitchen cabinet.
It’s a loosely defined group of outsiders, some Democrats but mostly Republicans, whom he leans on for advice on major issues, including those that impact the $27 trillion US economy, people close to him say.
It’s why the front-runners for key posts at the Treasury and the SEC – which have yet to be announced – might be out of the mix at any minute.
On The Money has been told by a senior Trump transition official not to be surprised by a “dark horse” nominee emerging, particularly for Treasury, as Trump taps into this advisory network.
Who are these back-channel advisers? I don’t know all of them, but one name I do know is Larry Fink, the very non-MAGA CEO of BlackRock. Fink is often associated with the Democratic Party given his support for progressive Environmental Social Governance investing, but he’s close to Trump; he had managed The Donald’s vast fortune in the past and the two still talk.
On The Money has learned that earlier in the week, in the middle of the Treasury scrum (as I said there are a bunch of people vying for the job), there were outreaches between the Trump camp and Fink about various matters. I am told Fink immediately took his name out of the Treasury hunt.
Fink’s ESG proselytizing often overshadows his amazing skill set as a risk manager and a market expert. You don’t build a firm from zero to $10 trillion in assets under management without being good at your job.
You can bet he and Trump will be talking much more in the years ahead.