Bessent Dodges Senate Questions on Trump’s $1.8 Billion Fund as Hearing Turns Contentious
Updated
Updated · The New Republic · Jun 3
Bessent Dodges Senate Questions on Trump’s $1.8 Billion Fund as Hearing Turns Contentious
3 articles · Updated · The New Republic · Jun 3
Summary
Scott Bessent repeatedly refused to answer Senate Finance Committee questions about Trump’s $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund, at one point initially failing to answer when asked if he was Treasury secretary.
Bessent said he could not discuss the settlement or related legal protections for Trump because of ongoing litigation, repeatedly deferring senators to the Justice Department.
Ben Ray Luján and Ron Wyden pressed him over how DOJ could grant the arrangement without Treasury’s knowledge, with Wyden calling it an IRS abuse beyond past precedent.
The fund’s status remains unclear: Bessent said Treasury would comply with a DOJ order to shut it down, and acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the payments would never proceed.
Trump nonetheless publicly backed the effort on Wednesday, underscoring a split between his stance and his administration’s testimony about whether the settlement machinery is still alive.