Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has hired David Zervos, a veteran Wall Street economist and longtime chief market strategist at Jefferies, to lead the Treasury Department. Zervos was a contributor to CNBC.
Bessent announced the hire Monday in a statement first obtained by CNBC. Mr. Zervos will serve in a broad advisory role and will assume his role immediately.
He supported Mr. Bessent’s recent decision to expand buybacks of some long-term government bonds and called on the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates.
In a brief interview, Mr. Zervos called himself a “Wall Street geek” and said he was excited about his third stint in the administration. Zervos said Bessent “has done a great job in this administration in guiding the economy through many turbulent periods.”
“Whether it was trade or war, he stepped up,” Bessent said.
Mr. Zervos intends to add intellectual firepower to the Treasury Department following a series of high-profile staff departures. Seven of the 16 Senate-confirmed appointees to the department had left the department as of mid-August, the Washington Sun reported. Bessent will be the third chief of staff since taking office as Treasury secretary in January 2025.
Fellow Wall Street economist Joseph LaVogna served in a similar role as an advisor to Bessent until he resigned in March. This position does not require Senate confirmation.
Mr. Bessent has a particularly broad portfolio as Treasury Secretary. He is effectively President Donald Trump’s top negotiator on China and has been closely involved in policy discussions on artificial intelligence, but on Friday Trump said he did not intend to add Bessent to the role of the administration’s top AI adviser.
Trump had considered Zervos to run the Federal Reserve, but the president ultimately chose Kevin Warsh for the post in January.
Mr. Zervos has worked at New York-based investment bank Jefferies since 2010.
Mr. Zervos has a doctorate in economics and has worked at the Federal Reserve twice. The first time was early in my career in the early 1990s, when I researched techno-economics and interest rates. He moved to the private sector and returned to the Fed as a visiting advisor in 2009 after the financial crisis. Mr. Warsh was a Fed director at the time, but it is unclear whether he worked directly with Mr. Zervos at the time.
Mr. Zervos will serve as a special government employee, he said in an email to clients. The position allows him to avoid onerous termination requirements associated with other federal appointments, but limits the length of time he can hold the job. Zervos said he expects his term to end in April 2027.
Mr. Zervos said last year that he believed interest rates should be “much lower.” Since Mr. Warsh took office, Mr. Zervos has said he believes Mr. Warsh can reduce the Fed’s balance sheet to create room for lower interest rates. These job cuts are one of Warsh’s top priorities.
Earlier this month, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the first time since 2023. The decision displeased some economists in the Trump administration, but Bessent is taking a more cautious stance. He appeared on Fox News on Sunday and said the Fed “should have an open mind” about how to run the economy.
Bessent has been intervening in the U.S. Treasury market as interest rates continue to rise. On Friday, the 10-year Treasury note hit 5.2%, its highest level since 2007, driven by a strong economy, competition for capital from increased artificial intelligence and inflation concerns as the Iran war continues.
Mr. Zervos appeared on CNBC last month and supported Mr. Bessent’s decision to expand buybacks of some long-term Treasuries, which could have eased pressure on some Treasury yields. Mr. Zervos said he supports stock buybacks, despite criticism from some on Wall Street.
“I don’t see how we can counter this when we have all the firepower and all the cards in the Treasury,” Zervos said.
