Scott Bessent Brawls with House Dem in Tense Hearing Clash: ‘The Congresswoman is Slanderous!’
Article excerpt
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had a heated exchange with U.S. Rep Linda Sanchez (D-CA) in the early portion of Thursday's House hearing. The post Scott Bessent Brawls with House Dem in Tense Hearing Clash: ‘The Congresswoman is Slanderous!’ first appeared on Mediaite.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had a heated exchange with U.S. Rep Linda Sanchez (D-CA) in the early portion of Thursday’s House hearing.
Bessent testified before the House Ways and Means Committee to discuss the priorities of his department. The meeting came days after President Donald Trump’s controversial settlement with the IRS, which he used to create the $1.8 billion fund to repay supposed victims of the weaponization of the government.
During the hearing, Sanchez accused Bessent’s Treasury Department of giving “immunity” from tax audits. In response to Sanchez’s questions, Bessent repeatedly deferred to the Justice Department and claimed he could not comment on ongoing litigation.
The back-and-forth was turned up a notch when Sanchez boldly declared this was “probably the most corrupt Treasury Department in our nation’s history.”
The exchange continued:
BESSENT: I am going to have to take exception with that! That is a slanderous statement!
SANCHEZ: And while you dance around questions to protect Trump, Americans are suffering in Trump’s spiraling economy. Inflation is now rising faster than hourly wages,
BESSENT: Nah.
SANCHEZ:, gas prices are at an all-time high with the war in Iran, the cost of groceries has risen 3.2% in the past year, and prices on most goods have gone up because of Trump’s tariffs. So I don’t see how you could call that anything other than a failure of the most corrupt Treasury Department in history.
Sanchez’s time then expired, giving Bessent the chance to respond to the harsh criticisms.
“The congresswoman is slanderous!” he said. “She has nothing but unsubstantiated opinions, and I will not stand for that. There is nothing corrupt. We move at the highest levels, and just because she cannot get the answer she wants, if she would like to give me facts, she seems short on facts, long on hot air, and I will not stand for that.
Watch above via C-SPAN.
The post Scott Bessent Brawls with House Dem in Tense Hearing Clash: ‘The Congresswoman is Slanderous!’ first appeared on Mediaite.