November 22,2024

Wyden Statement on Bessent Nomination for Treasury Secretary

Washington, D.C. — Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today issued the following statement on the nomination of hedge fund manager Scott Bessent to serve as Treasury secretary under Donald Trump:

“Donald Trump pretends to be an economic populist, but it wouldn’t be a Trump Treasury Department without a rich political donor running the show. When it comes to the economy, the government under Trump is of, by, and for the ultra-wealthy. The proof is in the fact that the first legislative priority for Trump and Republicans is passing another round of tax breaks for the top while raising taxes on the products American households buy and use every day. The next Treasury Secretary is going to have his hands all over that process, and I’m going to have a lot of questions for Mr. Bessent about the merit of a Trump policy that will intentionally inflict economic pain on families who are already getting clobbered by the cost of living. I expect this nomination will go through the Finance Committee’s thorough and longstanding vetting process that has applied to nominees from both sides. The American people should view any effort to circumvent that process as an attempt to hide key information about Trump’s nominees and policy plans in the shadows.” 

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