Trump taps former Mnuchin aide Faulkender for No. 2 Treasury job

President-elect Donald Trump announced Wednesday his selection of finance professor Michael Faulkender to be deputy Treasury secretary, where he will play a key role in running the department.

Faulkender, who served as chief economist for Treasury during Trump’s first term, now teaches at the University of Maryland’s business school and also serves as chief economist at the Trump-aligned America First Policy Institute.

If confirmed, he would be the No. 2 to hedge fund manager Scott Bessent, who has been tapped for the top job at Treasury.

In his previous stint at the department under then-Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Faulkender was responsible for running the Paycheck Protection Program, a massive lending plan rolled out in 2020 to help small businesses weather the pandemic.

“Mike is a distinguished Economist and Policy practitioner who will drive our America First Agenda,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. “He will help Treasury Secretary Nominee Scott Bessent usher in a new Golden Age for the United States by delivering a Great Economic Boom for all Americans.”