Scott Bessent, President-elect Donald J. Trump’s Treasury secretary pick, defended tax cuts and tariff increases on Thursday, rebutting accusations from Democrats at his confirmation hearing that Mr. Trump’s policies would enrich the wealthiest Americans and hurt working families.

The clashes over the shifting direction of economic policy in the United States represented a preview of legislative fights to come this year as Mr. Trump prepares to enact blanket tariffs on imports and Republicans in Congress push to extend the tax cuts that they passed in 2017.

Mr. Bessent outlined a sharp break with the Biden administration during testimony before the Senate Finance Committee. He signaled a more confrontational approach with China and an intention to abandon a global tax agreement that the current Treasury Secretary, Janet L. Yellen, reached with more than 100 nations.

In his opening statement, Mr. Bessent said that Mr. Trump’s plans represented a “generational opportunity to unleash a new economic golden age that will create more jobs, wealth and prosperity for all Americans.”

A billionaire hedge fund manager with deep experience in financial markets, Mr. Bessent has been meeting with Senate Republicans and Democrats in recent weeks and is expected to have a relatively smooth confirmation process. But Democratic senators grilled Mr. Bessent on Mr. Trump’s plans, warning that they could stoke inflation and widen income inequality.

“Trump’s going to be waging this class war instead of fixing what’s broken about our tax system, which is that there’s a special set of rules that only applies to the ultrawealthy,” Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, the top Democrat on the committee, said. “Mr. Bessent is a case in point.”

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