Treasury and Other Trump Nominees, Fluoride Policy in Florida

0:02President-elect Donald Trump has announced his choice for Treasury Secretary. Scott Besant, a hedge fund manager, will be expected to try to sell Trump's populism to Wall Street. I'm Aisha Roscoe. And I'm Scott Simon, and this is Up First from NPR News. Scott Besant once had ties to Democrats, but has emerged as a key Trump advisor in the past year. He's defended tariffs, which many in the business community oppose. Plus Trump's nominees for several other top positions. And Florida's Surgeon General urges communities to stop adding fluoride to their drinking water. That's despite decades of research that shows the mineral helps prevent tooth decay.

0:43Stay with us. We have the news you need to start your weekend.

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1:35Help provide life-saving care around the world. Learn how to donate today at doctorswithoutborders.org slash NPR. This message comes from Mint Mobile. If you're tired of spending hundreds on big wireless bills, bogus fees, and free perks, Mint Mobile might be right for you with plans starting from$15 a month. Shop plans today at mintmobile.com slash switch. Upfront payment of$45 for a three-month five-gigabyte plan required. New customer offer for first three months only. Then full-price plan options available. Taxes and fees extra. See Mint Mobile for details. One top Trump nominee for a cabinet position has withdrawn.

2:15But the president-elect has put forth a replacement. And he's named picks for many other offices at a rapid rate, all with plenty of time before inauguration. NPR senior editor and correspondent Ron Elving joins us. Ron, good to have you. Good to be with you, Scott. Several cabinet nominations last night, Treasury, Labor, Moore. Which name stood out to you? Treasury is the crown jewel in this collection. It's one of the original four cabinet positions all the way back to George Washington choosing Alexander Hamilton. Trump has chosen billionaire hedge fund manager Scott Bessence. Most people have not heard of him, but that's going to change.

2:52He's going to be in charge of imposing tariffs that Donald Trump insists he wants to have on foreign goods, especially from China. And he'll also be pushing the renewal of Trump's tax cuts from 2017, which are about to expire at the end of 2025. The new boss at the Office of Management and Budget is Russell Vogt. Not a surprise. He had the job for a while in the first Trump term. He's one of the prime authors of the Project 2025 agenda. That's what the Conservative Heritage Foundation produced as a blueprint for a second Trump term. Trump himself disavowed that document many times during the campaign, but we've already seen some of its authors entering his new administration.

3:33And vote in particular will be in a key position to change the way the federal government does business. What about Labor Secretary? Lori Chavez de Reamer is a Republican member of the House from Oregon who just lost her re-election bid earlier this month, so she will be available in January. She had the backing of Teamsters President Sean O 'Brien and was seen as the most pro-labor of the prospects for this job. You may remember O 'Brien addressing the GOP convention last summer. And how's he in urban development? Scott Turner was in the first Trump White House. He was director of the Opportunity Revitalization Council there.

4:11His job was helping attract business investment to depressed urban areas. Before that, he played for several teams over a nine-year career in the National Football League. Matt Gaetz this week pulled himself out of consideration for attorney general. Of course, he was the subject of a prolonged House Ethics Committee investigation with very serious allegations, including sexual misconduct, illicit drug use, obstructing government investigations. What does his decision to remove himself from the process tell us now? For the moment, it suggests there is a limit to what Trump can demand from Republicans, even in this, his moment of maximum triumph.

4:50Gates said he stepped out so as not to be a distraction, but it's widely reported Trump called Gates the morning he withdrew and told him the votes just weren't there in the Senate to confirm him. But we don't know if this Gates case was a one-off or if it established some kind of precedent by which the Senate will try to push back again. Trump quickly replaced Gates with former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi. They have a political connection going back a decade and more. She was mentioned for this job eight years ago, and she was on Trump's defense team during his first impeachment trial.

5:22The Washington Post is reporting that Trump plans to have Bondi clean out all the justice attorneys who built the criminal cases against him. Ron, police in Monterey, California have shared with news organizations, including NPR, the report of the accusation of sexual assault against Pete Hegseth, who, of course, is Mr. Trump's nominee for secretary of defense. Do you see this as affecting his nomination bid? It's hard to see how it wouldn't one way or another, but the police have also said that allegation in 2017 was investigated and no charges resulted. Trump personally does not seem to be overly troubled by such controversies, whether his own or those of his nominees, but it could worsen some of Hegseth's other issues.

6:07He has been openly hostile to the idea of women in combat and critical of the Navy admiral, who is now the first woman to serve on the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Hegseth is a decorated veteran and a commentator on Fox News, but he does not have any relevant administrative or political experience for one of the toughest jobs in any government. And Trump has indicated he wants to nominate Linda McMahon to lead the U.S. Department of Education. She is the wife and business partner of Vince McMahon, the CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment. Mr. Trump says he wants to shut down the Department of Education.

6:42How is this nomination being received? If you watched the Republican National Convention, you know that Trump's connection to the world of professional wrestling has been important to his political persona and outreach. It might not seem to have much to do with education, but as you say, the Department of Education is one Republicans regularly suggest should not exist at all. It annually funnels billions to schools and students, but Republicans say that could all be handled directly with the state and local governments. Ron Elvin, thanks so much. Thank you, Scott. From our background on Trump's Treasury pick, Scott Besant, we turn to NPR Chief Economics Correspondent Scott Horsley.

7:21Scott, thanks for being with us. Good morning. Happy to be here. And what can you tell us about Scott Besant? Well, he's not super well-known. He runs a hedge fund, the Key Square Group. He also spent a number of years working for billionaire Democratic donor George Soros. In fact, when he went out and launched his own fund, Soros was an investor. But he has been a big cheerleader for the Trump agenda. He's been writing op-eds in the Wall Street Journal and on the Fox News website. He's also a longtime friend of vice president-elect J.D. Vance. Trump has described Besson as one of the top analysts on Wall Street and a nice-looking guy, too.

7:58He does have a sort of distinguished silver-haired gravitas that Trump often looks for. Besson is originally from South Carolina, and he and his husband spend most of their time there. What kind of reception is Scott Besson likely to get in the Capitol? Well, he'll probably get a friendly reception from the new GOP Congress if he's confirmed. One of his first jobs will be getting an extension of Trump's 2017 tax cuts, parts of which are set to expire next year. He'll likely be pushing on an open door when it comes to cutting taxes, although that would probably add to the federal debt, which we learned just yesterday has now surpassed$36 trillion.

8:35Besson has also championed Trump's call for deregulation and for increased domestic energy production as a way to bring down costs. Of course, tariffs are another big part of Trump's economic platform. What has Scott Besson said about that? Besson has defended Trump's proposal to slap taxes on all imports, even though most economists say that would likely raise prices for U.S. businesses and consumers. Unlike some of the others in Trump's orbit, though, Besson doesn't seem to be a dyed-in-the-wool protectionist. In an interview with the Financial Times last month, he suggested that Trump views tariffs as a bargaining chip and said, quote, my general view is that at the end of the day, he's a free trader.

9:16So we'll see about that. Of course, the Treasury Secretary typically works closely with the Federal Reserve. What do you foresee there? Yeah, that could be a source of some friction. You know, Trump has frequently criticized the Fed chairman, Jerome Powell, even though he appointed him to the chairman's post. Trump thinks Powell and his colleagues were too quick to raise interest rates the last time Trump was in the White House and too quick to lower interest rates in the run-up to this fall's election. The Fed is supposed to be insulated from political pressure from the White House, but Trump has repeatedly flouted that norm.

9:52And Besson went so far as to suggest that Trump name a shadow Fed chairman to sort of undermine Powell, although he later walked that back. Now, Powell is set to remain as Fed chairman into 2026 and says he's not going anywhere. Powell is a staunch defender of the Fed's independence. He's also a savvy politician, though, and he's trying very hard not to antagonize the incoming administration. And for Scott Horsley, thanks so much. You're welcome.

10:26For decades, water systems have been adding fluoride to water to prevent tooth decay. But yesterday, the Florida Surgeon General issued guidance opposing the practice. It's a radical policy change that's also on the agenda for Donald Trump's pick for health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Reporter Stephanie Colombini from member station WUSF in Tampa joins us now. Stephanie, thanks for being with us. Glad to be here. And tell us about what's happened now in Florida. So yesterday morning, the Surgeon General here, Dr. Joseph Latipo, announced new guidelines, and they advised communities not to add fluoride to public drinking supplies.

11:07You know, Latipo did acknowledge fluoride is good for your teeth, but he's concerned about other possible health effects. Like what? He talked about some recent studies that suggest exposure to high levels of fluoride is associated with lower IQ in kids. And there's a federal toxicology report and researchers said they have moderate confidence. There is a link, but they say that's for fluoride levels twice as high as what the US recommends. And there's also decades of research that show water fluoridation cuts cavities in children and adults and saves billions in dental spending. But LATIPO believes that the risks of any added fluoride outweigh the established benefits, especially for some groups.

11:51In this day and age, with the additional sources of fluoride that people have access to, it is public health malpractice to continue adding fluoride to community water systems that pregnant women and children have access to. That's him speaking on local station Fox 13 in Winter Haven, and that city voted a couple weeks ago to stop adding fluoride to the water supply. As you mentioned, fluoride levels in a lot of these studies have been higher than what's recommended for U.S. drinking water, given that what's been the reaction? Well, some support LATIPO's recommendation, but I've also talked to dentists and pediatricians who strongly oppose it, including Dr.

12:32Jeff Otley, president of the Florida Dental Association. Fluoride has been researched for more than 80 years, and the overwhelming credible scientific evidence consistently indicates that fluoridation of community water supply is safe at optimal levels and effective at preventing and repairing tooth decay. And at a safe level in water, Otley says fluoridation is critical, especially for families who can't afford to go to the dentist. Stephanie, what happens next in Florida? Well, it is still up to local governments to decide how to handle this, but an official recommendation from the health department does add pressure, and a handful of communities were already taking steps to stop adding fluoride to the water, so more could follow suit.

13:16And then this debate is happening nationally, especially now that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is President-elect Trump's pick for Health and Human Services Secretary. He wants to issue similar guidance. Stephanie Colombini with member station WUSF, thanks so much for being with us. You're welcome.

13:36And that's up first for Saturday, November 23rd. I'm Aisha Roscoe. And I'm Scott Simon. Our producer is Danny Hensel with help from Andrew Craig, Elena Torek, and Martin Patience. Our director is Michael Radcliffe. Our editors are Dee Parvas, Carrie Feibel, Cara Platoni, Shannon Rose, and Matthew Sherman. Hannah Glovna is our technical director with engineering support from Nisha Hines, Andy Huther, and Arthur Halliday-Lorent. Evie Stone is our senior supervising editor. Sarah Lucy Oliver is our executive producer. And Jim Cain is our deputy managing editor. Tomorrow on the Sunday Story, how does a disagreement turn into a tearful argument?

14:20We'll hear about what happens in our brains during verbal conflict and how we can navigate those situations without losing control. Aisha, how can you say that? And for more news, interviews, sports and music, you can tune into Weekend Edition on your radio. Go to stations.npr.org to find your local NPR station. Scott, me and you can really show how to talk without conflict because I feel like that's what we do every Saturday and Sunday. Oh, that was beautiful. Yes. That has my heartwarming endorsement. Yes. This message comes from Mint Mobile. If you're tired of spending hundreds on big wireless bills, bogus fees, and free perks, Mint Mobile might be right for you with plans starting from$15 a month.

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