The Trump administration is planning to install Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s chief of staff, Daniel Katz, to the No. 2 role at the International Monetary Fund, according to people familiar with the decision.
The move would put an official closely aligned with the administration’s international economic agenda atop a global institution that the United States has said is in need of an overhaul. Mr. Katz, who is not a trained economist, would be replacing Gita Gopinath, who recently left the role of first deputy managing director to return to her job as an economics professor at Harvard University.
The White House and the Treasury Department did not immediately return requests for comment. An I.M.F. spokesman said that the process was ongoing and that the managing director would make an announcement when a decision was made.
The expected departure of Mr. Katz comes at a time of staffing upheaval in Mr. Bessent’s Treasury Department.
Michael Faulkender, the deputy Treasury secretary, abruptly left the job last month without explanation. That came after the sudden departure of Billy Long, who was removed as the commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service. Mr. Bessent now oversees the I.R.S. The assistant secretary for public affairs, Mr. Bessent’s top spokeswoman, left in July.
Mr. Katz’s brief tenure at the Treasury Department was marred by controversy. In January, he emailed a small group of Treasury officials seeking access to a closely held payment system as part of an effort to pause U.S.A.I.D. payments and comply with President Trump’s executive order on Jan. 20 to halt foreign aid.
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The post Top Bessent Aide, Daniel Katz, Expected to Be Tapped as No. 2 at I.M.F. appeared first on New York Times.
