Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent Appoints Judy Shelton as Senior Adviser

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has selected Judy Shelton, a former Trump administration appointee whose nomination to the Federal Reserve was rejected by the Senate, to serve as a counselor in his department. Shelton will provide guidance on currency policy, with a specific emphasis on assessing financial conditions in China, according to a Treasury statement expected later Friday.

Shelton, who holds a Ph.D. in business administration from the University of Utah, previously served as a senior fellow at the Independent Institute and the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. Although she is not widely recognized as a China specialist, the Treasury noted her career focus on analyzing how internal monetary and financial conditions within nations influence exchange rates. Her earlier works include “Money Meltdown,” published in 1988, and “The Coming Soviet Crash” from the following year.

The appointment follows significant personnel turnover at the Treasury Department. A recent Wall Street Journal report highlighted that seven Senate-confirmed officials had departed the department by the end of August, with only one position filled. Additionally, Bessent recently named David Zervos, formerly the chief market strategist at Jefferies, to a counselor role, a position that, like Shelton’s, does not require Senate confirmation.

Shelton’s nomination to the Federal Reserve in 2019 faced substantial bipartisan opposition. A coalition of Democratic and Republican senators blocked her appointment due to her views on central bank independence, her advocacy for the gold standard, and her skepticism regarding the necessity of a central bank for the United States.