United States Deputy Treasury Secretary Resigns After Only Five Months

This was not expected.

The second in command at the Treasury Department has resigned.

U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Michael Faulkender has announced he will be resigning from his post.

Just five months earlier Faulkender was confirmed by the Senate for his position.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had nothing but nice things to share about Faulkender following his departure, signaling that Faulkender left on good terms.

CNBC reported more on Faukender’s departure:

U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Michael Faulkender is leaving the Trump administration less than five months after being confirmed by the Senate, the Treasury Department said.

Faulkender is the second Senate-confirmed official to leave the Treasury Department this month, following the departure of IRS Commissioner Billy Long, who said he was being tapped as ambassador to Iceland.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent thanked Faulkender for his work at the department but gave no reason for his departure.

“Since January, he has played a critical role in overseeing the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s operations and executing on President Trump’s bold economic agenda,” Bessent said in a statement. “His important work has supported the passage of the historic One Big Beautiful Bill and GENIUS Act, and the leveling of sanctions against our adversaries.”

Trump nominated Faulkender, a University of Maryland finance professor, in December to serve as the No. 2 official at Treasury, where he had been assistant secretary of economic policy during Trump’s first term. He was confirmed by the Senate for the role on March 26.

At the end of the first Trump administration, Faulkender had returned to the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, where he has been a finance professor since 2008.

SCOOP: After his short service at @USTreasury as United States Deputy Treasury Secretary where he worked on the passage of President Trump's historic One Big Beautiful Bill and the GENIUS Act, Deputy Treasury Secretary Michael Faulkender @TreasuryDepSec is leaving the Treasury… pic.twitter.com/C5GJb3lazy

— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) August 22, 2025

Here was Faulkender getting sworn in:

Yesterday, @TreasuryDepSec Michael Faulkender was ceremonially sworn in by @SecScottBessent. Dr. Faulkender played a critical role in the previous Trump administration as Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Most recently, he served… pic.twitter.com/cIT42Tv8jN

— Treasury Department (@USTreasury) April 17, 2025

The Wall Street Journal reported Faulkender also served briefly as the acting commisioner of the IRS:

As deputy Treasury Secretary, Faulkender ran the department’s day-to-day operations and did a stint as acting commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service during the leadership turmoil at the tax agency. He is the second Senate-confirmed official to leave the Treasury Department this month, following the departure of IRS Commissioner Billy Long.

The Treasury Department didn’t provide a reason for this departure. In a statement, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent thanked Faulkender for “his dedication and service,” citing his work on economic sanctions and the fiscal and cryptocurrency laws signed by Trump this year. Bessent said Faulkender has “played a critical role” in overseeing Treasury operations and “executing on President Trump’s bold economic agenda.”

Faulkender is a longtime finance professor at the University of Maryland who worked in the Treasury Department during the first Trump administration, helping oversee economic responses to the pandemic. He didn’t respond to requests for comment.

This time around, he led the transition team focused on the Treasury Department and worked on the tax policies that became part of the tax and spending law that President Trump signed in July.