Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday launched “Operation Economic Outcast,” a campaign to cut Iran off from the global economy and punish governments, banks, and companies that continue doing business with Tehran.
The announcement comes roughly six months after President Donald Trump launched his military campaign against Iran, with Bessent saying the new economic offensive will target the financial networks and revenue streams that sustain the Iranian government, military, and security apparatus.
Bessent described the campaign as an “economic D-Day,” comparing it to the Allied invasion of Normandy during World War II, and warned that countries enabling Iran’s trade and financial activity will face U.S. sanctions.
“Our objective is to sever every economic lifeline that sustains this tyrannical regime until Tehran stands alone,” Bessent said. “President Trump has taken action that his predecessors have long deferred, and under his leadership, America is no longer managing the Iranian threat; we are ending it.”
The campaign marks a significant escalation in Washington’s pressure on Tehran. Rather than focusing solely on Iranian entities, the administration is threatening the international banks, companies, and governments that help keep Iran connected to the global financial system.
Bessent said the Treasury has mapped the networks Iran uses to smuggle oil and evade sanctions and will pursue a “zero-leakage approach” to cutting off those channels. The administration is giving countries and entities a chance to shut down activities identified by Washington, but Bessent warned that the window will be short.
“No one is above the reach of U.S. sanctions,” Bessent said when asked whether Chinese banks could eventually be targeted. 
He declined to name specific institutions but said any bank or entity that facilitates transactions that turn Iranian oil into revenue for the regime could face sanctions.
The first round of measures targets five sectors Bessent called vital Iranian lifelines: digital assets, technology, gold, aviation, and shipping. 
Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is also sanctioning more than 60 entities, individuals, and vessels accused of helping Iran procure nuclear and missile technology, conduct cyber operations, and generate oil revenue.
Bessent said every branch of Bank Melli, Iran’s largest commercial bank, should be “shuttered and dark” and warned that entities facilitating money laundering for Iran would be cut off from the U.S. dollar system.
Trump has been calling world leaders with specific requests to end their interactions with Tehran, Bessent said, while State Department and Treasury officials are following up with governments and entities to outline Washington’s expectations. He declined to identify the countries involved or give a specific deadline, saying the United States does not have “infinite patience.”
Bessent said a “wave of sanctions” would begin immediately and predicted a major announcement involving a financial institution by the end of the week.
He pointed to the United Arab Emirates as an early example of a country responding to the pressure. The UAE suspended all trade with Iran last week following new Iranian attacks on the Gulf country, which has faced hundreds of attacks since the war began.
Asked why the United States was not simply imposing the sanctions immediately, given his comparison to D-Day, Bessent said Washington did not want to “blow up the global financial system” and instead is giving countries and institutions a chance to remedy what the administration considers bad behavior before imposing secondary sanctions.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei warned Monday that Tehran will retaliate against President Trump&#8217;s “Economic D-Day” sanctions campaign, including potentially targeting countries that cooperate with Washington.
“Any escalation of this situation will undoubtedly bring about consequences,” Baghaei said. “Our hands are not tied.”

Mojtaba

‘Operation Economic Outcast’: Trump Admin Launches Economic D-Day Against Iran

Department of the Treasury

Economy

Iran

Sanctions

Scott Bessent

Trump

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent fired a blistering shot across Iran’s bow, declaring that President Donald Trump is bringing the hammer down on the Islamic Republic once and for all.
Writing in the <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/cb865200-1a06-40be-86a3-10ee2bb05804">Financial Times</a> on Sunday, Bessent wrote, “We are entering the endgame. At dawn begins an economic D-Day — the single greatest financial offensive ever marshalled against an adversary. “
Bessent, channeling WWII, compared the Trump administration’s economic strategy to the 1943 Tehran Conference where Allied leaders plotted the downfall of Nazi tyranny. But this time around, the target is Tehran.
“For 47 years, the Islamic republic of Iran has been a malignant force in the world,” Bessent declared. “Within Iran, a corrupt regime has consigned what would be one of the world’s strongest economies to ruin and its enterprising people to repression. Beyond its borders, the Iranian regime maintains a network of proxies that perpetuate its terror.”
Bessent then turned to the nations that have covertly or overtly supported the despotic Iranian regime.
&#8220;The regime’s final refuge now lies in the self-deception of fearful nations that still believe accommodating aggression can secure a durable peace,&#8221; he wrote. &#8220;Iran’s enablers purchase and transport its petroleum. They facilitate the flow of its finances through exchange houses and free trade zones. They welcome Iran’s flights and maintain registries on its behalf. They turn a blind eye to seaborne fuel transfers and the illicit use of their banks, all while concealing the extent of their complicity.. In short, these countries calculate appeasement of the regime to be the safer course. But they would do well to consider the consequences of sustaining it.&#8221;
Bessent invoked the 17th-century philosopher Blaise Pascal, whose famous wager stated that human reason cannot definitively settle the question of whether God exists. Pascal argued that humans should think like gamblers, weighing the relative costs and payoffs of believing versus not believing. He contended that if you bet on God and are right, you gain everything (infinity); if you bet on God and are wrong, you lose very little (a few finite pleasures or the time spent in worship); but if you bet against God and are wrong, you lose everything (infinite pain/loss), thus any rational person should choose to believe in God, because risking an infinite loss for a temporary, finite gain is a terrible bet.
Bessent said of Pascal, “He understood that uncertainty does not absolve men or nations of divine judgment. In fact, it demands a more exacting appraisal of risk and imposes a higher price for error. Pascal’s eponymous wager now applies to Iran’s lifelines. Nations that, in courting reprieve from Tehran, continue to replenish the very regime from which they seek protection — and now exceed the limits of America’s tolerance.”
Bessent shredded decades of weak-kneed Washington politicians, writing, “For decades, the political class accepted an endless cycle of provocation instead of advancing American interests. Not another generation should be condemned to the menace of fanatics who devote themselves to ‘death to America’ and fulfilling the regime’s nuclear ambitions.”
“Those who sever Iran’s remaining financial and commercial connectivity will reinvigorate their own,” he urged. “They will deepen their access to global capital, reinforce confidence in their markets and attain the standing they seek in the world economy.”
“The Islamic republic has subsisted by dressing extortion as security guarantees,” he continued. “ It has drawn strength from a calculus that regards Iranian retaliation as certain and American enforcement as negotiable. Under President Trump, that era is over. And those who fear the danger of defying Tehran ought not to discount the cost of testing Washington.”
He concluded, “Pascal considered salvation to be a choice. As a great wave of American resolve comes ashore, are Iran’s enablers willing to wager their future against it?”
Bessent’s warning is clear: the Trump administration is bringing the ultimate financial reckoning.

President Trump Meets With Lebanese President Joseph Aoun

‘We Are Entering The Endgame’: Trump Admin Sends Major Warning As ‘Economic D-Day’ Begins

Donald Trump

Trump Administration

WASHINGTON — A man who identifies as a transgender woman has been sentenced to more than six years in federal prison for plotting to kill Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, yet another example of a trans-identifying individual who plotted politically motivated violence.
Twenty-five-year-old Ryan Michael English (who goes by Reily or Raleigh Jane English) of South Deerfield, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty in March to weapons charges stemming from a plot to assassinate Bessent. On Tuesday, a judge sentenced English to 73 months and 36 months of supervised release, according to the <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/massachusetts-resident-sentenced-attempt-assassinate-cabinet-member-nominee-us-capitol">Justice Department</a>.
His gender identity was not publicly known until Tuesday, when court documents and testimony showed that English identifies as a woman.
Though prosecutors asked for 10 years, Judge Rudolph Contreras rejected the government&#8217;s request for a maximum sentence, a person who attended the proceedings told The Daily Wire. The judge highlighted that English identifies as transgender and took into account that English&#8217;s family did not accept his gender identity, saying that English had suffered because of this.
The government had argued that English should receive the maximum sentence to send a message that political violence is unacceptable. But Contreras rejected the government’s request, saying this was a low-visibility case and wouldn&#8217;t deter political violence because few people would learn about it.
According to the attendee, Contreras also asked prosecutors what message President Donald Trump&#8217;s pardons of January 6 defendants and efforts to establish a fund to compensate them sent about deterring political violence.
Contreras also said he would recommend housing English in a women&#8217;s prison, according to the attendee. A separate source familiar with the matter told The Daily Wire that English still has male genitalia.
English had approached a Capitol Police officer near the south door of the Capitol building on January 27, 2025, and said, &#8220;I&#8217;d like to turn myself in,&#8221; then admitted to possessing a knife and two Molotov cocktails, according to court documents. After officers searched English, they found that he had a folding knife and two improvised incendiary devices in his pockets, as well as a green lighter.
“I was going to kill Scott Bessent,&#8221; he admitted after he was handcuffed, according to authorities. He also told them: &#8220;For everything I’ve said, yes, I was going to kill a man in cold blood who I never met, yes.&#8221;
English struggled with his physical health, mental health, and substance abuse, the court filings state.
He told investigators that before focusing on Bessent, he had considered killing other government officials, including House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, or attacking a Washington think tank, which Fox News identified as the Heritage Foundation. After seeing Bessent on TV while at a library in the D.C. area, he changed his mind and decided to kill the Treasury Secretary.
Brian Phillips, Vice President of Communications at the Heritage Foundation, told The Daily Wire, &#8220;We are grateful to law enforcement for getting these lunatics off the street. As always, vigilance is the price of freedom.”
<div id="attachment_1160321" style="width: 872px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/transgender-identifying-man-sought-to-kill-scott-bessent/senate-confirmation-hearings-for-us-president-elect-donald-trumps-nominees" rel="attachment wp-att-1160321"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1160321" class="wp-image-1160321 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/GettyImages-2194287780-862x576.jpg" alt="" width="862" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/GettyImages-2194287780-862x576.jpg 862w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/GettyImages-2194287780-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/GettyImages-2194287780-768x513.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/GettyImages-2194287780.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 862px) 100vw, 862px" /></a>Scott Bessent speaks during his Senate Finance Committee confirmation hearing in Dirksen building on January 16, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chen Mengtong/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images)</div>
&#8220;Judith dear god I am so sorry,&#8221; English wrote in a note recovered by authorities, according to court documents. &#8220;You must understand I can feel myself dying slowly b/c of my heart. This is terrible but I can&#8217;t do nothing while nazis kill my sisters. I love you. This is awful. Im so sorry. I love u. Please stay alive and heal. you can. you are strong enough. F*ck them for pushing us so far. you don&#8217;t deserve this. Im so sorry for lying and plotting and lying. Please survive.&#8221;
That message was written on a receipt and accompanied by drawings of seven hearts, according to court documents. English also had the words &#8220;NO FUTURE NO CHOICE&#8221; handwritten on his arm.
When officers asked him why he was in Washington, he told them, &#8220;pretty much the words on my arms say everything.&#8221;
He also revealed that he was inspired by Luigi Mangione, the man accused of murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
&#8220;I was planning on burning down [a Washington, D.C.-based think tank] which is near the White House,&#8221; he told authorities, the court documents show.
&#8220;I was going to go there under the guise of I applied for an internship&#8230;I was going to go to the [think tank], tell them what they wanted to hear, and basically say that I was &#8216;oh I was emailing with [individual-1] for a while, oh it must have been a scam, oh that&#8217;s so unfortunate&#8217; and introduce myself&#8230;.&#8221;
English detailed that he was trying to think of ways to meet a certain individual within the think tank and kill them &#8220;for revenge,&#8221; and if not, he was planning on &#8220;burning down the building.&#8221;
&#8220;I was making all of these plans in my head of what I could do,&#8221; he said. &#8220;If all else fails, I was going to slit my wrists on the White House steps. Just because that&#8217;s all you can do if you can&#8217;t hurt anyone else and you&#8217;re out of options and you&#8217;re out of time and you need to have an outlet and you need to show people how serious it is and you need to make one dramatic f*cking thing.&#8221;
English also told authorities that he had considered staking out Washington and looking for opportunities to harm &#8220;big players,&#8221; according to the filings.
English said he fixated on Bessent after seeing him on television, then stumbling on a Reddit post about Bessent saying the federal minimum wage should not be increased. &#8220;I believe he&#8217;s a billionaire &#8230;&#8221; English told authorities. He was particularly bothered by how Bessent smiled as he said the minimum wage should not be increased from $7.25.
&#8220;He said it with a smile on his face and that got under my skin &#8230; and this is how I decide who deserves to live or die right? Because I don&#8217;t get to make that decision, but it&#8217;s as if they&#8217;re making it for themself.&#8221;
English is one of a number of trans-identifying individuals who have been implicated in plots or acts of violence targeting Americans over politics or religion in recent years. The Daily Wire reported in September 2025 that Nicholas Roske, the man who attempted to kill Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-attempted-kavanaugh-assassin-identifies-as-transgender-woman-legal-filings-show">identifies as a transgender woman</a> and was deeply mentally ill and suicidal.
On August 27, 2025, trans-identifying shooter Robert Westman <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/what-we-know-about-the-trans-identifying-gunman-who-slaughtered-catholic-school-children" target="_blank" rel="noopener">killed Catholic school children</a> in Minnesota before taking his own life. Westman’s attack came just two years after another trans-identifying killer targeted Christian school children in Nashville.
In May, Sebastian Gorka, the senior director for counterterrorism at the White House National Security Council, told The Daily Wire that the new White House Counter Terrorism Strategy includes “rapid identification and neutralization of violent secular political groups,” including those subscribing to transgender ideology.
Gorka slammed previous administrations for ignoring real threats while weaponizing agencies against Americans, saying that &#8220;Americans have witnessed the politically motivated killings of Christians and conservatives increasingly committed by violent Left-wing extremists, including the assassination of my friend Charlie Kirk by a radical who espoused extremist transgender ideologies.&#8221;

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent Testifies To Senate Finance Committee On Treasury Dept’s Budget

Transgender-Identifying Man Sought To Kill Scott Bessent

Heritage Foundation

Transgender

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent honored the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) in their home state of South Carolina on Monday as Joint Base Charleston was renamed in the senator&#8217;s honor.
“Lindsey Graham believed that the first obligation of the federal government is to keep its people safe,” Bessent said. “To place his name upon a base dedicated to our defense is to join Lindsey’s memory to the cause that animated his entire life.”
Bessent said Graham’s legacy belonged at the newly renamed Joint Base Lindsey Graham precisely because the senator “never outgrew the people or the places that first claimed him as our own.”
“Few men have traveled greater distances without ever leaving home behind,” Bessent said.
Bessent described Joint Base Lindsey Graham as the backbone of the Air Force’s C-17 fleet, calling the aircraft &#8220;the workhorse of our air defense.&#8221; He drew a comparison to Graham’s work in the Senate.
“From today forward, these planes will have Joint Base Graham on their tails,&#8221; Bessent said. &#8220;A reminder that Senator Graham was the American people&#8217;s workhorse.” 
Bessent was joined by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, who echoed his tribute and emphasized Graham&#8217;s battles against left-wing ideology in the military.
“Lindsey spent his final years taking on a radical leftist ideology that had run rampant in the media, in academia, and even among a few members of Congress,” Hegseth said.
Hegseth argued that left-wing ideology had “killed&#8221; military recruiting efforts. 
Graham <a href="https://www.ngaus.org/magazine/conversation-sen-lindsey-graham?utm_source=chatgpt.com">linked</a> the military’s recruiting and retention struggles to the armed forces’ increasingly “woke” reputation. Graham backed a defense bill that banned the military from paying for gender-affirming healthcare for its soldiers, imposed a hiring freeze on all individuals tied to DEI initiatives, redirected $50 million in DEI programming to countering the flow of narcotics, and swapped DEI onboarding training for comprehensive training on the U.S. Constitution. 
For most of his career, Graham traveled to international hot spots to immerse himself in foreign policy and national security. His political career built on his distinguished record in the United States Air Force, where he served on active duty as an Air Force lawyer. Graham was stationed at Rhein-Main Air Base in Germany before later joining the South Carolina Air National Guard.
A memo signed by Air Force Secretary Troy E. Meink said the base was renamed after Graham to honor his “decades of distinguished service to the United States Congress and the United States Air Force.” 
Graham remained focused on foreign policy until the final days of his life. Shortly before his death, he traveled to Ukraine, where he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and pushed for tougher sanctions aimed at pressuring Russia to end its war in Ukraine.

Lindsey Graham

Lindsey Graham’s Military Legacy Gets A Lasting Tribute

Pete Hegseth

South Carolina

Tribute

The Trump administration reported the single largest month for arrests by ICE in July, but now, its efforts are moving beyond the border and into community banks. 
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent traveled to Arizona on Thursday to tell lenders to view credit applications under an increasingly scrutinized lens. 
&#8220;This administration will not tolerate blatant abuse of our financial system, nor will it permit risks posed by the extension of financial services to illegal aliens,&#8221; Bessent <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0595">told</a> the bankers. 
He was careful to frame the ask as part of the bankers’ ordinary duties rather than an expansion into border enforcement. 
&#8220;We do not ask bankers to assume the burdens of border enforcement,&#8221; Bessent said. &#8220;But we depend on banks to do what you do best: know your customers, identify risks as they arise, and report suspicious patterns before they metastasize into criminal schemes.&#8221;
The administration is pushing the banks to view lending money to undocumented immigrants as an added risk. The administration outlined concerns, such as the possibility of deportation and termination after an employer discovers the employee doesn&#8217;t have a valid work authorization. The guidance does not carry the force of law, however, as banks are not prohibited from offering accounts or loans to illegal immigrants.
Bessent argued that Arizona carries particular weight in the effort, telling the bankers the state &#8220;remains uniquely exposed to the aftershocks of Biden&#8217;s border crisis, including cartels and criminal organizations that seek to conceal illicit proceeds within legitimate channels.&#8221; He made similar remarks in Texas, given its proximity to the southern border. 
Critics of the Trump administration&#8217;s new guidance argue that community banks will suffer if they have to bear the burden of increased compliance as they face pressure to more closely scrutinize their customers. 
The National Association of Latino Credit Unions and Professionals <a href="https://inclusiv.org/news/inclusiv-nlcup-joint-statement-executive-order-restoring-integrity-americas-financial-system">said</a> the guidance will create a “nearly insurmountable operations and compliance burden for financial institutions in tracking the immigration and work authorization status of their members. This burden will be felt most acutely by small credit unions and will likely lead to closures and fewer affordable financial services in the communities that need credit unions the most.”
Bessent responded to that criticism by framing the federal government&#8217;s relationship with community banks as a two-way street. The secretary told the audience that even as Washington leans on community banks for vigilance, Treasury owes them relief from what he called years of &#8220;overregulation&#8221; that has cut the number of community and small banks in half since the 2008 financial crisis. 
&#8220;Dodd-Frank was supposed to end &#8216;too big to fail,'&#8221; Bessent said. &#8220;Instead, it created &#8216;too small to succeed.&#8217;” 
He reminded the banks of the administration’s commitment to reducing regulation and reminded them that increased regulation did not stop three bank failures in 2023.

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent testifies before a House Ways and Means Committee hearing on Capitol Hill

Trump Admin Taps Surprising New Partner To Combat Illegal Immigration

Arizona

Border

Community Banks

Dodd-Frank

Illegal Immigration

Regulations

Treasury Department

The Treasury Department <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0572">dropped the hammer</a> Thursday on a sprawling network of terror-supporting hypocrites, slapping heavy sanctions on Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas operators who hide behind fake charities and underground banks to fund violent extremism.
The Trump administration isn&#8217;t playing games. The Office of Foreign Assets Control exposed a senior U.K.-based Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood official, alongside three money-laundering operatives and three front organizations secretly fueling Hamas’s military wing.
“The Trump administration will relentlessly pursue terrorists and those who finance them,” warned Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. “Whether operating under the guise of charities, businesses, or underground financial networks, those who enable Hamas will be exposed, sanctioned, and held accountable.”
Thursday&#8217;s action pulled back the curtain on how these terror networks exploit donors while funneling cash directly into violent ops. Mahmoud al-Abyari, secretary general of the Muslim Brotherhood General Secretariat, was exposed for managing ties with Hamas and helping raise cash for previously sanctioned terror-linked groups like Hayat Yolu.
Entities like Indonesia’s Tujah Bulah Global (operating under the alias Seven Spikes Global) and the Gaza-based Madad Palestine Charitable Society claimed to gather cash for needy civilians. Instead, the money was secretly diverted straight into the pockets of Hamas fighters. Turkey-based El-Kahira for General Trading, owned by Khuldun Khamis Zakaria Alden and operated with shareholders Zaid and Abdullah Al-Jebouri, moved hundreds of thousands for Hamas. The operation didn&#8217;t stop at terror. It also provided underground fiat and crypto banking to violent European organized crime groups like Sweden’s notorious Foxtrot Network.
This crackdown marks the latest salvo in an aggressive, ongoing push by the Treasury Department to relentlessly pursue Muslim terrorist entities and dismantle their global cash pipelines.
Thursday&#8217;s blitz builds directly on Treasury enforcement actions from earlier this year, including the <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0415">March 12 dragnet</a>, when Treasury targeted four bogus non-profits, including Türkiye-based Ghazi Destek Dernegi and Indonesia’s KNRP, and captured Hamas documents proving that they were secretly funneling cash, supplies, and construction materials exclusively to armed militants in Gaza.
On <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0368">January 21,</a> Feds exposed six Gaza-based front groups posing as medical clinics, including the Waed Society and Al-Nur Society, that were directly integrated into Hamas&#8217;s security apparatus. Treasury also sanctioned the Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad (PCPA) and UK organizer Zaher Khaled Hassan Birawi for orchestrating political propaganda and Gaza-bound &#8220;flotillas&#8221; at the direct behest of terror bosses.

Lebanon President Heads To Washington For White House Talks

Treasury Department Busts Global Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas Terror-Financing Network

Hamas

Muslim Brotherhood

The Treasury Department said Tuesday that it prevented nearly $100 million in welfare payments to dead people, thanks to new fraud prevention measures implemented by the Trump administration. 
Since March 2025, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the department had identified 4,900 payments worth $99 million that were slated to go to dead people. The payments never went out because they were flagged for review after the department implemented new payment verification policies. 
“Treasury has delivered on a key promise of President Trump’s mandate to stop improper payments and fraud before money leaves the Treasury, and strengthen the integrity of the federal payment system,” Bessent <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0569">said</a> in a statement. “Together with Vice President Vance’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, this new safeguard addresses a longstanding vulnerability and helps ensure every dollar the federal government spends reaches its intended recipient.”
The payments were identified as the department screened 885 million payments worth about $2.77 trillion.
Bessent said the screening took place because the department has increased access to the Social Security Administration’s death master file, making it easier to identify deceased payees. He also pointed to the adoption of the Do Not Pay program, which <a href="https://fiscal.treasury.gov/payment-integrity/do-not-pay-dnp/about">requires</a> identity verification, eligibility confirmation, and bank account information before any payment is doled out. 
“Treasury will continue efforts to modernize the federal payment system, strengthen safeguards against fraud and improper payments, and protect taxpayer dollars,” Bessent said. 
In his first few months back in office, President Donald Trump signed an <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/protecting-americas-bank-account-against-fraud-waste-and-abuse/">executive order</a> aimed at empowering the Treasury Department to identify fraud. Trump’s executive order noted that the Government Accountability Office estimates that the government loses between $233 and $521 billion every year in fraud. 
“This order promotes financial integrity by enabling the Department of the Treasury to more easily conduct improper payment and fraud prevention screening prior to disbursing funds on behalf of agencies,” Trump directed in March 2025. “This order increases transparency and accountability by requiring agencies to provide the Department of the Treasury with the information needed to track transactions through the General Fund in greater detail.”
The Trump administration has brought a strong emphasis on combating fraud with the White House creating a new task force under Vice President JD Vance focused on tackling the issue. The task force opened up an investigation in Ohio after The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trumps-massive-anti-fraud-strike-force-lands-in-ohio?author=Luke+Rosiak&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Trump’s+Massive+Anti-Fraud+Strike+Force+Lands+In+Ohio">reported</a> on spurious entities being paid millions for so-called home health care services.

IMG_5307

The Shocking Payments To Dead People Trump Just Stopped

JD Vance

waste fraud abuse

Welfare

When we talk about the Founding Fathers, we’re usually just talking about the Big Five: George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton.
Of course, these men deserve our veneration. But Jefferson, Madison, and Washington are synonymous with the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and presidency, respectively. Adams and Hamilton both have award-winning Broadway musicals and popular 20th century biographies that keep them top of mind.
But what of the other Founders, the men who thought, fought, and wrote this country into existence? In honor of America’s 250th birthday, The Daily Wire asked lawmakers, writers, and historians to draft a new Founding Father starting lineup. The only rule: they couldn’t choose one of the Big Five. Here are their picks.
<h3>Mike Johnson, Speaker of the House of Representatives</h3>
Frederick Muhlenberg was elected to serve as the very first Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives by the First Congress in 1789, and was the first signer of the Bill of Rights. An ordained Lutheran minister, Pennsylvania delegate to the Continental Congress, and former 3rd Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, he was well prepared to accept the great privilege and challenge of leading and establishing a brand new institution.
Shepherding our great deliberative body through its formative days was no small task and required tremendous vision, skill, and patience. Muhlenberg was up to the task, and effectively crafted the rules, procedures, and protocols of Congress while actively serving in it. Because he and his colleagues had to travel treacherous or nonexistent roads on horseback, he was forced to delay the first meeting of Congress by a month until a quorum was reached. In August 1789, he cast the deciding vote for the location of the nation&#8217;s new capital.
While the speakership has changed considerably since Muhlenberg wielded the gavel, his efforts to construct a Congress capable of governing itself, debating openly, and exercising a check on the other branches of government were essential. As we celebrate America’s 250th, we do well to remember the wisdom and invaluable contributions of our founders and the unsung heroes who set our nation on its course to become the greatest in history.
<h3>Ben Shapiro, editor emeritus, The Daily Wire</h3>
Robert Morris was the greatest entrepreneur of the Founding generation. He bet his entire fortune — the largest in the country — on the riskiest startup the world has ever seen: the United States of America itself. Morris lived out the saying “freedom isn’t free”: you can proclaim your self-evident truths, but if you can’t pay your army, the British win.
Morris had every reason in the world to sit the Revolution out, hedge his bets, and stay rich. Instead, he became one of only two men to sign the Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, and the Constitution. Morris risked it all because he understood the American experiment was worth more than his own fortune, or even his own life. That’s not a businessman’s calculation. That’s closer to love than anything else.
<h4><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ben-shapiro-show-mini-doc-robert-morris?utm_campaign=founding&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=iterable&amp;utm_content=email_blast_creative00098_na">WATCH: BEN SHAPIRO ON ROBERT MORRIS</a></h4>
<h3>Dr. Ben Carson, president, American Cornerstone Institute</h3>
George Mason doesn’t come off the bench; he’s a starter. Mason’s thinking about liberty and the best way to structure government had an outsized impact on the Founding. To take just one example, the Virginia Declaration of Rights might be the most important but least appreciated document from the time. Too few Americans have even heard of that document. If you have never read it, take a minute and do it now; you’ll see that it was basically the first draft of both the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. True, Mason did not support the Constitution, but his objections to the Constitution — based on concern about too powerful a federal government — seem prescient given how much power Washington has aggregated for itself. George Mason isn’t the B-team; he should be talked about in the same breath as the other giants of the Founding.
<h3>Dr. Larry P. Arnn, president, Hillsdale College</h3>
You could no more put together an alternative starting five for the American Founding than you could for the 1991 championship Chicago Bulls. But if asked what secondary founders deserve attention, Benjamin Rush and Robert Morris come to mind. Rush, a Philadelphia physician, was a leading opponent of slavery and a great advocate of education in addition to being an ardent revolutionary. Morris, a wealthy Philadelphia merchant, took on the impossible job of Superintendent of Finance during the Revolution and played a critical role in getting arms to American troops in the field. But these men themselves recognized the superiority of those on the starting team. Rush said of Washington, “There is not a king in Europe that would not look like a valet de chambre by his side.” Morris, when asked by Washington to serve as the country’s first treasury secretary, declined and recommended Hamilton.
<h4><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/could-donald-trump-finally-dismantle-the-deep-state-ronald-pestritto-thinks-so">READ MORE: HILLSDALE PROFESSOR EXPLAINS HOW DONALD TRUMP COULD KILL THE DEEP STATE</a></h4>
<h3>Daniel McCarthy, distinguished fellow in conservative thought at the Heritage Foundation</h3>
No one can replace the greatest of our Founding Fathers, but if we lost all record of them tomorrow, we might try to approximate the effect of their ideas and sensibilities in combination by looking to James Otis and Samuel Adams in place of Jefferson; Robert Morris, who was Washington’s first choice for Treasury secretary, in place of Hamilton; Roger Sherman, a wise constitutionalist, in Madison’s or John Adams’s stead; and James Wilson instead of Benjamin Franklin to supply some Pennsylvania principle. No one can compare to Washington, but John Marshall might occupy the place of a great Virginian profoundly committed to the Union. These less appreciated figures would give us a strong sense of our founding, though they would also remind us of what we were missing without the most renowned names available.
<h3>Richard Brookhiser, author, The Hero Returns: Lafayette and the Legacy of Revolution</h3>
For all the brilliance of the founders, not many of them understood economics. Tench Coxe, a Philadelphia merchant, did. He assembled facts and figures for Alexander Hamilton&#8217;s “Report on Manufactures,” and might have filled his shoes had Hamilton not existed. He later became a supporter of Thomas Jefferson, so he was also adroit politically. Nathanael Greene was also widely acknowledged for his military brilliance, losing every battle he fought against Cornwallis in the Carolinas yet driving him to Virginia and ultimate defeat at Yorktown. Georgia awarded Greene a plantation for his services, where he died of heat stroke after the war. Had he lived he might have made an excellent Secretary of War.
<h3>Troy Senik, author, A Man Of Iron: The Turbulent Life And Improbable Presidency of Grover Cleveland</h3>
Because he didn&#8217;t sign the Declaration of Independence, John Dickinson is always portrayed as a coward, the jittery man blind to the glory of the moment. The irony is that he walked into the Second Continental Congress arguably the most prominent advocate for colonial rights in America.
Dickinson did not oppose independence. He opposed declaring it before the preconditions for sustaining it were in place. No foreign alliance had been secured. The Articles of Confederation were nowhere near complete. The military situation was uncertain at best. His argument was methodical, not ideological: do these things first, then declare.
What happened next proved him right about virtually everything save the final outcome. The country barely survived the early days of the war, and only through a sequence of events so improbable that it would have been folly to plan for them. Had things gone south, Dickinson would have been remembered as Cassandra. Instead, he became a footnote in a story he helped write.
John Dickinson knew he was destroying his reputation by resisting the rush to declare independence. But he did so anyway because he believed the country&#8217;s long-term survival mattered more than the passions of the moment. It&#8217;s a sober patriotism to ask the questions nobody wants to hear rather than to give the hosannahs that everyone expects. Dickinson asked those questions, was overruled, and was later proven right. What had he done in the interim? Put on a uniform and fought for the cause anyway.
We could use more cowards like that.
<h3>Brian Anderson, editor-in-chief, City Journal</h3>
That’s easy: If Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Adams, and Hamilton were unavailable, my first draft pick would be James Wilson. One of the Constitution’s principal architects but now less well-known than the Big Five, Wilson argued that America’s liberties rest on more than individual rights; they also grow out of a moral order discoverable through reason and grounded in natural law.
Big themes: Rights and duties are inseparable, liberty means self-government rather than license, and political authority flows directly from the people because all persons are naturally equal before that higher law. Wilson offers a distinctly American synthesis of natural rights, civic responsibility, and constitutional self-government that in my view deserves renewed attention.
<h3>Ryan Williams, president, the Claremont Institute</h3>
John Quincy Adams was only 11 years old when the Declaration of Independence was signed, but he would go on to a long career as senator, Secretary of State, Minister to Great Britain, Prussia, and Russia, and finally, president. After Washington’s peerless inaugural example, JQA remains, to this day, the greatest foreign policy strategist and diplomat of American history. For a continued restoration of a truly America First foreign policy, all roads lead through JQA.
<h4><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-editor-of-the-most-popular-edition-of-the-federalist-thinks-its-more-important-than-ever">READ MORE: THE CLAREMONT INSTITUTE&#8217;S CHARLES KESLER ON WHY THE FEDERALIST PAPERS MATTER</a></h4>
<h3>Daniel Gullotta, assistant professor at the Ohio State University’s Salmon P. Chase Center for Civics, Culture, and Society</h3>
While I&#8217;m sad most people don&#8217;t know who Gouverneur Morris is, it&#8217;s a lot of fun telling people who he was. Just mentioning he had a peg leg usually gets people&#8217;s attention. But his role in the Constitution, crafting the opening &#8220;We the People,&#8221; is something people should know just as commonly as they know Jefferson was the drafter of the Declaration. He was also arguably the most anti-slavery Founding Father (just read some of his speeches during the compromise debates). He also refused to leave France during the Reign of Terror while serving as our minister, despite the danger. Then there&#8217;s the crazy way he died, trying to clear a urinary blockage with a piece of whalebone from his wife&#8217;s corset. I know everyone says this person or that person needs a movie or miniseries, but come on, there&#8217;s just no part of his life that isn&#8217;t compelling.
<h3>Mark Helprin, author, “Elegy In Blue”</h3>
We&#8217;re sorely in need of Benjamin Franklin, maybe a few dozen of him, to correct the abysmal ignorance and inexperience of today&#8217;s &#8220;Yutes,&#8221; who know virtually nothing and yet are powered by the energy of the young and destined to run the zoo. And it is a zoo. Franklin made use of his long experience and inherent brilliance to take under his wing Adams, Jefferson, and a lot of others, guiding them with practical and long-lasting results. Maybe I say this about the younger generations because I&#8217;m in my 80th year and am falling prey to chasing them off the lawn. But, really, they can hardly speak English, the girls&#8217; speech sounds like frying eggs, and they know so little that they buzz around communism and fascism like moths around a flame. You know what happens with moths and flames.
<h4><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/he-turned-the-royals-into-a-joke-his-take-on-america-is-anything-but?trueLinkId=75JIYEMEAhD1KHqlEouqVfPC%2Fc5LDaS1niXzcEeobct2bv%2FJcUHC%2BLs8PvnWg1HDBGj%2FUEf2tfG%2B%2BQqbHoPtag%3D%3D&amp;trueLinkTs=1782577908&amp;trueLinkExpiry=43200">READ MORE: A CONVERSATION WITH MARK HELPRIN, AMERICA&#8217;S GREATEST LIVING WRITER.</a></h4>
<h3>Brenda Hafera, Assistant Director and Research Fellow, B. Kenneth Simon Center for American Studies</h3>
Mercy Otis Warren was an exceptional woman who contributed to the founding of an exceptional nation. A staunch republican, she depicted the happenings in her native Boston through plays and poems intended to drum up support for the patriot cause. The list of her correspondence was a &#8220;Who&#8217;s Who&#8221; of the Founding generation, including John and Abigail Adams, George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson, enabling her to write the only Anti-Federalist account of the War of Independence. That opus, along with her thoughtful and uncompromising defense of the importance of morals and manners, justly earned her the designation, &#8220;The Conscience of the American Revolution.&#8221;
<h3>Anastasia Boden, Director of Constitutional Scholarship at Pacific Legal Foundation and the host of the In Dissent podcast</h3>
James Wilson has largely been forgotten. He deserves better. Wilson&#8217;s argument that the people, not the government, are sovereign justified not only rejecting Parliament&#8217;s taxes but breaking with Britain altogether. A Scottish immigrant steeped in the Scottish Enlightenment, Wilson helped popularize the radical idea that the people — not kings or Parliament — are the ultimate source of political authority and are fully capable of governing themselves. Wilson also played a leading role in shaping <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/we-can-sue-the-government-right/id1896779544?i=1000772988868">Article II of the Constitution</a>, strengthening the presidency with the counterintuitive goal of protecting liberty. In an era of debates over democracy, federal power, and constitutional government, few Founders have more to teach us.
<h3>James Patterson, author, “Why Postliberalism Failed”</h3>
The Founders we admire today were stark personalities and prolific writers, men who overshadowed impressive figures we tend to forget. One is John Witherspoon, the only member of clergy to sign the Declaration of Independence and teacher to James Madison, who gave both a religious and intellectual heft to the Revolutionary cause. As a Catholic, I have to recommend Charles Carroll of Carrollton, the only Catholic to sign the Declaration of Independence, a major financier of the Revolution, and a fierce advocate for republican politics and religious liberty. And then there’s Roger Sherman, who was something of an unsung workhorse from the start of the Revolution through the early Republic years. He opposed slavery, and he was the chief author of the Connecticut Compromise that gave us the bicameral Congress we have today.

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14 Lawmakers, Writers, And Historians Pick Their Favorite Forgotten Founding Fathers

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The Department of Justice has confirmed to The Daily Wire that it has launched a grand jury investigation into leftist megadonor Neville Roy Singham, who has been accused of promoting Chinese Communist Party interests.
A federal grand jury in Manhattan issued subpoenas on behalf of an investigation led by U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton and authorized by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, Fox News <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/doj-launches-grand-jury-probe-marxist-mogul-neville-roy-singhams-funding-leftist-groups">reported</a> on Monday. The subpoenas reportedly seek financial records tied to Singham and his network. Singham recently funneled $285 million from his accounts in China to Left-wing organizations in the United States through the Goldman Sachs&#8217; philanthropic entity, the GS Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund for Wealth Management.
Prosecutors are reportedly examining whether Singham engaged in wire fraud, money laundering, or any other financial crimes, or acted as an unregistered foreign agent on behalf of China. The investigation is part of the Trump administration’s efforts to crack down on fraud in nonprofits, political organizations, and government-backed entities. 
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has also met with Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon to discuss Singham and the recent investigation, according to the outlet. Bessent allegedly warned the bank that they could also be investigated for their past connections with the CCP and their account with Singham.
Singham is connected to organizations such as the People’s Forum, Party for Socialism and Liberation, and Code Pink. His wife, Jodie Evans, is a leftist activist who co-founded the radical anti-war organization Code Pink. Lawmakers have also alleged that Singham was affiliated with the Maku Group, a CCP-backed propaganda organization.
Singham has been a Communist ever since his youth, when he took membership in the League of Revolutionary Black Workers, a Mao-influenced group based in Detroit, Michigan, the New Lines Magazine <a href="https://newlinesmag.com/reportage/the-big-business-of-uyghur-genocide-denial/">reported</a>.
Singham used America’s capitalist system to gain his wealth. After college at Howard University, Singham founded Thoughtworks, a consulting and software firm, which he sold to a private equity firm in 2017 for $785 million.
In a viral clip <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/video/6391402983112">posted</a> by Fox News Digital, Singham argued to Chinese officials that America and Britain were not the heroes in World War II.
“This fascist lie that the West says that there is a battle between fascism, democracy and communism. They make a fake argument that there are three systems,” Singham stated. “In fact, fascism is actually a face of capitalism and imperialism, as is colonialism. These are three faces of a system that quite now is getting very, very dangerous for us.”
Singham also argued that the Soviet Union and China were the real heroes of WWII.
OpenSecrets has <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/search?q=neville+singham&amp;type=donors">tracked</a> $70,000 of direct funding from Singham, including $18,000 to Democratic Representative Pramila Jayapal of Washington, $8,400 to then-Democratic Representative Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, and $7,500 to the Green Party, along with funding to the campaigns of former President Barack Obama and Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT).

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First lady Melania Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced Thursday that children in foster care will be eligible for Trump Accounts, ensuring they can participate in the investment program even when no parent or guardian is available to open an account for them.
Trump Accounts are designed to help children build wealth over time through tax-advantaged investment accounts seeded with an initial government contribution. Until now, participation generally required a parent or legal guardian to open an account on a child&#8217;s behalf.
The new initiative, called Fostering the Future Accounts, allows states and tribal governments serving as legal guardians to open Trump Accounts for eligible children in foster care.
“For the first time, children in foster care will have access to a dedicated investment and savings vehicle,” Melania Trump said during Thursday&#8217;s announcement. 
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
NOW: <a href="https://x.com/FLOTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@FLOTUS</a> and <a href="https://x.com/SecScottBessent?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecScottBessent</a> announce Trump Accounts for children in foster care.
This expands access for children for whom the state acts as their legal guardian. <a href="https://x.com/FLOTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@FLOTUS</a> says 23 governors have already agreed to set up the accounts in their states and urges all 50… <a href="https://t.co/gvqeHK6Pto">pic.twitter.com/gvqeHK6Pto</a>
— Brecca Stoll (@breccastoll) <a href="https://x.com/breccastoll/status/2065096414502306091?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 11, 2026</a></blockquote>
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The program could make roughly 400,000 foster children eligible to participate, based on federal estimates of the number of children currently in foster care nationwide.
Bessent said the change ensures children will receive the same $1,000 Treasury-funded contribution available through standard Trump Accounts for children born between January 1, 2025, and December 31, 2028.
States will also be permitted to deposit a child&#8217;s Social Security survivor benefits into the account.
Like other Trump Accounts, the funds will be professionally managed and invested in diversified index funds. When participants reach adulthood, they may use the money for approved expenses, including college tuition, purchasing a home, or starting a business.
Mrs. Trump said 23 governors have already agreed to implement the program and urged the remaining states to participate.
“Let’s put America’s children before politics,” she said.

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Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA) set out to torch Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent over inflation and President Donald Trump&#8217;s military action against Iran during a House Ways and Means Committee hearing Thursday. Instead, she walked straight into an embarrassing trap unable to answer a basic question about American history.
As Chu accused Trump of launching an &#8220;illegal&#8221; war and rattled off price increases, Bessent calmly interupted, asking: &#8220;Congresswoman, who was the president during World War I?&#8221;
Chu blinked.
&#8220;I don&#8217;t know,&#8221; she admitted — apparently unaware that Woodrow Wilson, one of the most celebrated Democratic presidents in American history, led the country into that conflict. She tried to pivot: &#8220;Clearly you&#8217;re not answering my question.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
The impact of our failed education system just revealed itself in this congressional hearing, and it shows how incompetent people have become.
Bessent: &#8220;Who was the president during World War I?&#8221;
Rep. Chu: &#8220;I don&#8217;t know.&#8221;
This woman is a FEDERAL LEGISLATOR responsible for… <a href="https://t.co/lXaTKAY3BJ">pic.twitter.com/lXaTKAY3BJ</a>
— Andrew Kolvet (@AndrewKolvet) <a href="https://x.com/AndrewKolvet/status/2062569675045679312?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 4, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Bessent was happy to answer — and then some. He explained that Wilson took the country into World War I on principle, even though Germany hadn&#8217;t directly attacked the United States. The parallel was obvious: sometimes a president makes decisions with an eye toward catastrophic future risks, not just today&#8217;s grocery bill.
&#8220;Americans&#8217; financial situations would be devastated if Iran got a nuclear weapon and there was a permanent, permanent shutdown of the flow of energy out of the Middle East,&#8221; Bessent said. &#8220;I promise you that.&#8221;
Then he systematically dismantled Chu&#8217;s inflation narrative, number by number.
When Chu triumphantly declared beef was up 15%, tomatoes up 40%, and bread and milk up 8% and 5% — then twisted the knife with &#8220;I know that would be hard for a billionaire like you to imagine&#8221; — Bessent didn&#8217;t flinch.
&#8220;Food at home is up 2.5% since President Trump took office,&#8221; he replied. &#8220;I know that&#8217;s an inconvenient fact for you. You&#8217;re from California — maybe you care about avocado prices, maybe you want them higher — but they&#8217;re down 19%.&#8221; He landed the kill shot: &#8220;You don&#8217;t get to pick and choose. It is a basket, and the basket is up 2.5%. During the Biden era, it was 5%.&#8221;
When Chu insisted wages weren&#8217;t keeping up, Bessent was equally blunt: &#8220;I&#8217;m afraid you&#8217;re incorrect. We had real wage increases every month since President Trump took office except for the month of April. I know the facts don&#8217;t align with your narrative — you&#8217;re entitled to your opinion, not your own facts.&#8221;
Rep. Kevin Hern (R-OK) piled on afterward, reminding Democrats of their own inconvenient history: &#8220;In the four years of Joe Biden, we had a 25% increase in prices. No way did the wages keep up. The highest gas prices we&#8217;ve seen in the last decade were under Joe Biden — but my colleagues have gotten amnesia.&#8221;
The Democrat who doesn&#8217;t know who Woodrow Wilson was tried to lecture the Treasury Secretary on economic history.
It did not go well.

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Rep. Linda Sánchez (D-CA) <a href="http://pic.twitter.com/vCUNZadS5y">accused</a> Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent&#8217;s department of being “the most corrupt in American history” during a heated congressional hearing on Wednesday, then rattled off complaints outside the Treasury’s jurisdiction.
“Inflation is now rising faster than hourly wages, gas prices are at an all-time high with the war in Iran, the cost of groceries has risen 3.2% over the past two years, and prices on most goods have gone up because of Trump’s tariffs,&#8221; Sánchez said. &#8220;So I don’t see how you can call that anything other than a failure of the most corrupt Treasury Department in history.” 
Bessent rejected the characterization, saying she was “short on facts and long on hot air.” 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
California Representative <a href="https://x.com/LindaTSanchez?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@LindaTSanchez</a> tells Secretary Scott Bessent his Treasury Department is “the most corrupt in American history.”
She provides tariffs, war with Iran and a DOJ settlement as her evidence.
Tariff policy is led by the White House and aided by Section 232… <a href="https://t.co/vCUNZadS5y">pic.twitter.com/vCUNZadS5y</a>
— Brecca Stoll (@breccastoll) <a href="https://x.com/breccastoll/status/2062578590492045512?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 4, 2026</a></blockquote>
Sánchez&#8217;s criticism focused on several issues that are either directed by the White House or involve agencies beyond the Treasury&#8217;s direct policymaking authority.
Sánchez first targeted inflation, which she blamed on Trump’s tariffs and the conflict with Iran. Energy prices have increased since the military operations against Iran began, contributing to broader inflationary pressures. 
Bessent responded sharply: “On inflation, I will not take firefighting advice from an arsonist,” a reference to the inflation surge during the Biden administration.
Sánchez also criticized Trump’s tariff policies, arguing they have increased costs for American consumers. The Trump administration has defended the tariffs as necessary to reset foreign trade relationships and secure industries deemed critical to national security, including pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, steel, and critical minerals. The average household is likely to pay an extra <a href="https://budgetlab.yale.edu/research/state-us-tariffs-march-9-2026">$570</a> due to tariffs in 2026. 
While the Treasury ultimately receives tariff revenue after collection, trade policy is largely driven by the White House, the Commerce Department, and the Office of the United States Trade Representative. 
Finally, Sánchez targeted the IRS, which is part of the Treasury, for failing to audit Trump&#8217;s tax returns. Bessent responded that the Treasury follows existing legal guidance and suggested that disagreements over the matter should be directed to the Department of Justice. The Treasury Department is unable to audit Trump’s tax returns as the DOJ <a href="https://tax.thomsonreuters.com/news/doj-settlement-forever-bars-irs-trump-audits-sparks-backlash/">issued</a> an order that permanently barred the IRS from auditing past tax returns of not only President Donald Trump, but also his family, and related companies.
&#8220;At Treasury, we follow the rule of law,&#8221; Bessent said.

Treasury Sec. Scott Bessent

Democrat Tries To Own Scott Bessent But Doesn’t Understand How Government Works

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