Bessent Clashes With House Democrats

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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, as top spokesman for President Donald Trump’s economic policies, endured a sometimes-fiery hearing at the House Wednesday, peppered with Democratic legislators’ objections to initiatives including DOGE and tariff hikes on consumer products.

In his first exchange with Maxine Waters, Bessent was queried on a lack of a face-to-face meeting with the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee. “This is the first time we’ve met — is that correct?” Waters said at the hearing. Bessent responded, “No ma’am — we actually met one New Year’s Eve in the Bahamas.”

Waters, who chaired the committee when the Democrats held the majority, said, “He didn’t make an impression.” The Treasury chief then quipped, “You were much better at the electric slide than I was.”

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