John Koudounis, the CEO of Calamos Investments, told Fox News on Sunday that Howard Lutnick would be a “great pick” for Treasury secretary in the Trump administration.
The President-elect has not named yet who will serve as his next Treasury Secretary, but US media report that his choice is between Key Square Capital CEO Scott Bessent or Cantor Fitzgerald CEO and Trump transition co-chair Howard Lutnick.
“I think both are very successful people. I think both are competent to be in that position,” Koudounis said.
Koudounis: Trump will go with Lutnick
Koudounis said:
“Having said that, if you look at [it], I think there’s a bit of a tell in terms of loyalty. I think Howard [Lutnick] is part of the co-head of the transition team for the former president. And so that’s a tell, right, in terms of loyalty. And if you look back in history, you can’t help but see that Scott [Besant] contributed to Hillary Clinton’s campaign, contributed to Al Gore’s campaign. And let’s not forget he was chief investment officer for the Soros Foundation.”
Koudounis, who was named “Global Investments Leader of the Year” by CEO Today, stressed that, in his opinion, the President-elect doesn’t want to have people who aren’t 100 percent loyal to him and to the party.
“My thoughts [are] that he will go with Lutnick, and I think that would be a great pick,” he concluded.
Koudounis’ insights come as Elon Musk publicly weighed in on Trump’s choice. Musk urged followers on X to support a candidate that would not be “business as usual” and “will actually enact change” as he threw his support behind Lutnick to lead the treasury department.
Tariffs
The Calamos CEO said that the new Treasure Secretary should be someone who can follow through with Trump’s pledge on tariffs.
Imposing tariffs is important in order to fund the Treasury and to protect nascent US industries, Koudounis told Fox News. He added that US consumers would not pay more for the products imported.
“I don’t agree that they’ll pay more. I think that it’s a tactic and it’s been successful in the past. And it catches up with the tariffs that we pay on the other side on some of the consumer goods. Now, with China, it might be used a little bit more directly, but for the rest of the world, it’s a negotiating tactic that’s worked well,” he added.
“And you have to remember that capital goes to where it’s treated best,” he said. “And so I think it’s an important arrow in the president’s quiver to use tariffs to the advantage of the United States.”
Koudounis: Tax cuts a priority for the Treasury Secretary
Koudounis stressed that the priority for the Trump administration should be tax cuts. “He has to make his tax cuts that are about to expire next year either extend them or make them permanent. Then he has to extend the taxes in terms of no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, and no tax on Social Security, which is something that’s great.”
One of the most important priorities of the the new Treasury Secretary is to lower capital gains tax, Koudounis said.
“It brings jobs back to the United States because that’s where people can do business at a more favorable way. And that will help spur the economy,” Koudounis maintained.
Related: John Koudounis Offers Solutions to Market Volatility Ahead of the Election
See all the latest news from Greece and the world at Greekreporter.com. Contact our newsroom to report an update or send your story, photos and videos. Follow GR on Google News and subscribe here to our daily email!
