Scott Bessent's glide path

The biggest takeaway from Treasury secretary-designee Scott Bessent's confirmation hearing is that it's a safe bet he will be confirmed as the 79th secretary of the Treasury.

• Republican senators supported his confirmation, and he will likely receive "aye" votes from many Democrats as well. But in roughly three hours of testimony, a couple of other moments caught our attention.

State of play: The courtly and restrained Bessent warned of economic disaster if Trump's 2017 package of tax cuts, many of which are due to expire at the end of the year, are not extended.

• "This is the single most important economic issue of the day," Bessent said. "This is pass/fail. If we do not fix these tax cuts, if we do not renew and extend, then we will be facing an economic calamity."
• The Trumpian rhetoric sheds light on the incoming administration's strategy for extending the law.

Between the lines: Republican lawmakers are mostly in lockstep on extending the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) provisions, but with a wider range of views about what other changes ought to be made to the tax system and potential spending cuts.

• Bessent's warning implies the administration will leverage the risk of the tax cuts expiring to persuade a fractious Republican caucus to find compromises.

Bessent also seemed to support the idea of the Federal Reserve retaining its ability to set monetary policy independent from political control, contra some reporting about Trump allies' views.

• "I think, on monetary policy decisions, the [Fed policy committee] should be independent," Bessent said.

Of note: Bessent mentioned a couple of times that he owns farmland and has an avid interest in agriculture. Per his financial disclosure, it is North Dakota property where soybeans and corn are grown.

• "I may be one of the few Treasury secretary nominees in recent periods who occasionally listens to farm radio" on satellite radio, Bessent said.