The US Senate confirmed Scott Bessent as the next secretary of the Treasury, becoming the chief economic spokesman for President Donald Trump and his sweeping agenda of tax cuts, deregulation and trade rebalancing.

The first openly gay person in the role has the delicate balancing act of cutting taxes and curbing deficits while putting forward a plan on tariffs that doesn’t jeopardize growth.

The Senate voted 68 to 29 to confirm Mr. Bessent, a billionaire hedge fund manager, as the next Treasury secretary.