Treasury Secretary Clumsily Responds To Report He Privately Confronted Trump Over DOJ Probe Into Fed Chair Jerome Powell

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent distanced himself from a report that alleged he privately confronted President Donald Trump about the Department of Justice’s probe into Fed Chair Jerome Powell.

In the Axios report, the outlet reported that a “perturbed” Bessent reprimanded Trump behind closed doors over the probe that centers on Powell allegedly going over budget with the Fed’s building renovation project, with Bessent reportedly telling the president that the investigation “made a mess.”

“Axios reported that you were not happy about DOJ’s investigation, that you told President Trump as much,” NBC’s Welker asked Bessent during a Sunday interview on “Meet the Press.” “Is that accurate?”

Initially, Bessent refused to answer the question, replying, “You know what, Kristen? I’m not going to discuss my conversations with the president.”

He then bizarrely backtracked, adding, “But if I said that, I was wrong.”

Never directly answering the question, the secretary launched into a quasi explanation.

“Financial markets, stock market went up, bond yields went down,” Bessent said. “So the markets are the ultimate arbiter of over whether the Fed’s independence is being impugned. And bond yields went down.”

He added: “I can tell you we had two of the best bond auctions that we have had in months for U.S. treasuries. So the market is looking beyond this. And again, maybe the market wants some transparency from the Fed.”

Bessent’s hedged answer came after Welker pressed him over whether Trump is “committed to the independence of the Federal Reserve.”

He brushed off her concerns, replying, “Of course, he’s committed to the independence of the Federal Reserve. But independence does not mean no oversight.”

Welker didn’t let up, directly asking him, “But doesn’t this undercut the independence of the Federal Reserve if the Justice Department is investigating renovations?”

“There are renovations at the White House,” she added.

Bessent rejected the comparison to renovations at the White House, telling Welker that those are funded by private donors and are not hundreds of millions of dollars over budget.

“The renovations at the White House are not $700 million, more than $1 billion or $1.5 billion over budget, Kristen. And the White House, that is being paid for with private funds. If I want to buy a new chair for my office at Treasury, that is an appropriation,” Bessent responded.

He continued, “Just to understand, the Federal Reserve has magic money. They print their own money. So when you have no oversight, why not have a little sunlight?”

Bessent then claimed that he has “called since last summer for the Fed to do its own internal investigation,” adding, “And that has not been heeded.”

Wrapping up his response, Bessent argued to Welker, “I don’t know about you, [but] if I were to receive inquiries from the Justice Department, I would answer them. They went unanswered.”

Watch a clip from Bessent’s “Meet the Press” interview below.