3 urgent tasks awaiting Trump’s pick for Treasury secretary

Ensuring the US doesn’t default on its obligations. Extending trillions of dollars in tax cuts before they expire. Quarterbacking President-elect Donald Trump’s plans for the economy.

Ensuring the US doesn’t default on its obligations. Extending trillions of dollars in tax cuts before they expire. Quarterbacking President-elect Donald Trump’s plans for the economy. The incoming Treasury secretary, whomever Trump ultimately picks, will face a confluence of deadlines and campaign promises that will make the early days on the job even more challenging than usual. By the time the Trump takes office, it’s likely that the US will have hit the debt ceiling, forcing the Treasury Department to use so-called extraordinary measures to allow it to continue paying the nation’s bills on time and in full. And congressional Republicans will be rushing to extend Trump’s landmark 2017 tax cuts act before a multitude of pricey provisions lapse at the end of next year. All the while, the secretary-to-be will have to help execute Trump’s economic gameplan, which was voters’ top concern in the election. “We have twin fiscal cliffs that start off next year. The debt limit begins the year, the tax cuts end the year,” said Ed Mills, Washington policy analyst at Raymond James. “The Treasury secretary is going to be at the center of those fights and is going to be monitoring the economic impact.” The Treasury Department will likely have to deal with the debt limit at the start of the new year. Congress suspended the cap as part of the 2023 debt ceiling agreement, but it will return effective January 2.