WASHINGTON (Reuters) — U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will skip a Group of 20 finance officials meeting in South Africa next week, sources familiar with his plans told Reuters, but will attend the World Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan, according to a Treasury spokesperson.
Bessent&#8217;s decision to miss the G20 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting marks the second time this year he has opted against attending a G20 meeting in South Africa, which is serving as the group&#8217;s president this year.
A Treasury official confirmed that Michael Kaplan, acting undersecretary for international affairs, will represent the department at the July 17-18 meeting near Durban, South Africa instead of Bessent. The United States is due to head the G20 group, which it helped found in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, next year.
Bessent, a key figure in President Donald Trump&#8217;s trade negotiations, will represent the United States at the U.S. national day at the 2025 World Expo in Osaka, a Treasury spokesperson said. The national day will be marked on July 19.
It was not immediately clear if he would engage in bilateral meetings during the visit.
The White House said Bessent would lead the U.S. delegation, which will also include Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer and Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau.
News of Bessent&#8217;s trip comes a day after Trump sent a letter to Japan raising tariffs on Japanese imports to 25%, starting August 1. Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said he would continue negotiations with the U.S. to seek a mutually beneficial deal.
Bessent skipped South Africa&#8217;s first G20 finance meeting in February to attend Trump&#8217;s first cabinet meeting in Washington. Finance ministers from China, Japan, India, and Canada also skipped the meeting in Cape Town focused on tackling global poverty, as did the European Union&#8217;s top economic official.
Bessent&#8217;s February decision came amid rising tensions between Washington and Pretoria as Trump threatened to cut off funding for South Africa, accusing President Cyril Ramaphosa&#8217;s government of confiscating land from white South Africans and turning a blind eye to the targeted killings of white farmers. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also skipped a February G20 foreign ministers meeting in South Africa.
In May, Trump declined to say whether he would attend a G20 leaders summit in South Africa in November, after blasting Ramaphosa at the White House over reports of white genocide and land seizures in Africa&#8217;s largest economy.
On Monday, Trump sent Ramaphosa a letter informing him that imports from South Africa would be subject to a 30% tariff starting next month, unless the country agrees to reduce its trade barriers to U.S. goods &#8211; one of more than a dozen countries to get similar letters.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Writing by David Lawder; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Christopher Cushing)

Scott Bessent

Scott Bessent To Skip South Africa G20 Meeting Again, Travel To Japan Instead

Donald Trump

G20 summit

Global Politics

Japan

South Africa

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent promised on Monday that the Trump administration would make &#8220;several announcements in the next 48 hours&#8221; regarding President Donald Trump&#8217;s trade agenda.
Bessent said during an interview with CNBC&#8217;s &#8220;Squawk Box&#8221; that the president is actively &#8220;trying to get everyone across the finish line&#8221; on agreements. Bessent&#8217;s comments come hours after Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, in an interview alongside Trump on Sunday, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/07/06/stock-market-today-live-updates.html">said</a> that tariffs will take effect on August 1, pushing back the plan for Trump&#8217;s &#8220;Liberation Day&#8221; tariffs to hit countries around the world on July 9 after a 90-day reprieve.
&#8220;What President Trump is concerned about is the quality of the deals, not the quantity,&#8221; Bessent said.
&#8220;My mailbox was full last night with a lot of new offers, a lot of new proposals,&#8221; he added. &#8220;So it&#8217;s going to be a busy couple of days. But importantly, too, President Trump has said that the countries would not go back to the recipricol [tariff] rate until August 1.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/SecScottBessent?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecScottBessent</a> on trade negotiations: &quot;We are going to have several announcements in the next 48 hours&#8230; What President Trump is concerned about is the quality of the deals, not the quantity&#8230; It&#39;s going to be a busy couple of days.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/xBWFDoaP7l">pic.twitter.com/xBWFDoaP7l</a>
&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1942197285720350979?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 7, 2025</a></blockquote>
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The Treasury Secretary <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bessent-trump-will-revive-foreign-tariffs-if-countries-dont-move-along-by-august-1?author=Hank+Berrien&amp;category=undefined&amp;elementPosition=2&amp;row=3&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+News&amp;rowType=Vertical+Carousel&amp;title=Bessent%3A+Trump+Will+Revive+Foreign+Tariffs+If+Countries+Don%E2%80%99t+%E2%80%98Move+Along%E2%80%99+By+August+1">told</a> CNN on Sunday that Trump plans to send letters to countries, warning them to &#8220;move things along&#8221; or tariffs will &#8220;boomerang back to your April 2 tariff level.&#8221;
&#8220;So I think we’re going to see a lot of deals very quickly,&#8221; Bessent added.
Trump is also ramping up <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-threatens-tariffs-for-countries-backing-anti-american-global-alliance?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Hank+Berrien&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=2&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=Trump+Threatens+Tariffs+For+Countries+Backing+%E2%80%98Anti-American%E2%80%99+Global+Alliance">pressure</a> on countries that align with &#8220;anti-American&#8221; trade policies of the BRICS nations, which include Brazil, Russia, India, and China. Ten countries have recently become &#8220;partner states&#8221; with BRICS, which could potentially lead to their inclusion as member nations. The 10 &#8220;partner states&#8221; include Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Uganda, and Uzbekistan.
&#8220;Any Country aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies of BRICS, will be charged an ADDITIONAL 10% Tariff,&#8221; Trump posted on Truth Social as the BRICS nations met in Rio de Janeiro. &#8220;There will be no exceptions to this policy. Thank you for your attention to this matter!&#8221;
The stock market is down on Monday amid President Trump&#8217;s renewed push for trade. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures dropped 70 points Monday morning, the S&amp;P 500 futures fell 0.3%, and the Nasdaq 100 futures were down 0.5%.

Bessent Promises ‘Several’ Trade Announcements Over ‘The Next 48 Hours’

Economy

Politics

Stock Market

Tariffs

Trade War

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent pushed back on Sunday when CNN’s Dana Bash said the “One Big, Beautiful Bill” would result in cuts to Medicaid.
“Only in DC is a 20% hike over 10 years a cut,” said Bessent. “Medicaid funding will go up 20% over the next 10 years. The people who Medicaid was designed for – the pregnant women, the disabled, and families with children under 14 – will be refocused.”
The Treasury secretary said that those who stand to lose benefits are those that do not qualify as “vulnerable.”
“Able-bodied Americans are not vulnerable Americans, so a work requirement or a community service requirement, that&#8217;s very popular with the public, and many state programs have that now,” he said.
Bash said that regardless of whether or not the American people generally support some work requirements for Medicaid, the “One Big, Beautiful Bill” is still a broken promise by President Donald Trump because “the president promised that there would not be changes to Medicaid benefits.”
“There is no change in benefits. There&#8217;s a change in requirements to get the benefits,” Bessent corrected her. The secretary continued that with the administration’s focus on bringing manufacturing jobs back to the United States and curbing illegal immigration, jobs will be available for Americans willing to work.
Bessent went on to accuse Democrats of infantilizing Medicaid recipients by claiming new registration requirements will be too much for them to handle.
It is a group of Democrats who unfortunately seem to think that poor people are stupid. I don&#8217;t think poor people are stupid. I think they have agency, and I think to have them registered twice a year for these benefits, that is not a burden,” the secretary said. “But these people who want to infantilize the poor and those who need these Medicaid benefits are alarmists.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Bessent on Medicaid cuts: &quot;The able-bodied Americans are not vulnerable Americans &#8230; people can get off Medicaid and get a job that has good healthcare benefits &#8230; I don&#39;t think poor people are stupid. I think they have agency.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/raDM6GQEOU">pic.twitter.com/raDM6GQEOU</a>
&mdash; Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) <a href="https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1941851013826158973?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 6, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Trump signed the “One Big, Beautiful Bill” into law on Independence Day. The nearly 900-page reconciliation bill may be the defining legislative achievement of his second term.
The legislation includes reforms to Medicaid, as well as new funding for administration priorities such as border security and national defense. The legislation also promotes fossil fuel development while cutting tax credits for green energy and electric vehicles.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, who played a key role in shepherding the legislation through the House, has been optimistic about the bill’s popularity with the American public. Johnson said over the weekend that the GOP will make a point of campaigning on the bill’s passage ahead of midterm elections.
“Our Republicans are going to be out across the country telling the simple truth, and guess what? It will be demonstrated. Everyone will have more take home pay. They’ll have more jobs and opportunity. The economy will be doing better. And we will be able to point to that as the obvious result of what we did,” Johnson <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/yeah-right-johnson-drags-dems-who-claim-theyre-happy-to-run-against-big-beautiful-bill?author=Hank+Berrien&amp;category=undefined&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;row=3&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+News&amp;rowType=Vertical+Carousel&amp;title=%E2%80%98Yeah%2C+Right%E2%80%99%3A++Johnson+Drags+Dems+Who+Claim+They%E2%80%99re+Happy+To+Run+Against+Big+Beautiful+Bill">said</a>.

Scott Bessent Schools CNN On What’s Happening With Medicaid: ‘Funding Will Go Up’

On Sunday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent revealed that President Trump is intent on reviving tariffs that were paused if countries don’t “move along” by August 1.
Bessent appeared on CNN‘s “State of the Union” with host Dana Bash, who asked what was going to happen when the initial 90-day pause on foreign tariffs expired in three days.
“I&#8217;m not going to give away the playbook, because we&#8217;re going to be very busy over the next 72 hours,” Bessent answered. “President Trump&#8217;s going to be sending letters to some of our trading partners, saying that, if you don&#8217;t move things along, then, on August 1, you will boomerang back to your April 2 tariff level. So I think we&#8217;re going to see a lot of deals very quickly. “
“So there&#8217;s basically a new deadline?” Bash asked.
“It’s not a new deadline,” Bessent replied. “We are saying this is when it&#8217;s happening. If you want to speed things up, have at it. If you want to go back to the old rate, that&#8217;s your choice.
Bessent explained that the “playbook” is “to apply maximum pressure. We saw that the E.U. was very slow in coming to the table. Three weeks ago, on a Friday morning, President Trump threatened 50 percent tariffs, and, within a few hours, five of the European national leaders had called him. And Ursula von der Leyen, the head of the E.U., was on the phone.” 
“We are close to several deals,” Bessent continued. “As always, there&#8217;s a lot of foot-dragging on the other side. And so I would expect to see several big announcements over the next couple of days.”
“The thing about being the deficit country, Dana, is, when you are the deficit country, you have the leverage,” Bessent asserted. “These are surplus countries that they have exported more to us than we export to them. So we have the leverage in this situation.”
When Bash posited that small business owners have told her they are living with uncertainty because of the tariffs, Bessent replied, “I&#8217;d say two things, is, the other thing they would probably have been telling you is, it was the uncertainty around taxes. So, with the One Big Beautiful Bill, they now have great certainty on taxes. &#8230; When I&#8217;m out talking to businesses, they want trade and taxes. So we have certainty on taxes now. All businesses know that they will be getting 100 percent expensing for new plant and equipment. On tariffs, again, it is the 18 important trading relationships. And we&#8217;re moving through those.”

Bessent: Trump Will Revive Foreign Tariffs If Countries Don’t ‘Move Along’ By August 1

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Tuesday dismissed the debt-focused <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/elon-musk-warns-republicans-vote-for-big-beautiful-bill-lose-your-next-primary" target="_blank" rel="noopener">attacks</a> by tech entrepreneur Elon Musk against Republicans who back the &#8220;One Big, Beautiful Bill&#8221; championed by President Donald Trump.
During an evening interview on Fox News, Bessent assured host Laura Ingraham that the legislation would be the start of Washington&#8217;s effort to get its financial house in order, after being pressed on Musk&#8217;s threat to back primary challengers against GOP lawmakers who vote for it.
&#8220;As I said earlier this morning, I think if Elon sticks to rockets, I will stick to finance,&#8221; Bessent said, alluding to how Musk owns SpaceX. &#8220;And, you know, I am confident that this bill is going to pay down the debt and there were 50 senators who weren’t threatened by his words.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Bessent fires back at <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@elonmusk</a> criticism
“If Elon sticks to rockets, I&#8217;ll stick to finance. I&#8217;m confident this bill pays down debt. 50 senators weren’t threatened by his words— <a href="https://twitter.com/VP?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@VP</a> broke the tie. Trump’s shown incredible leadership moving this forward.” —Treasury… <a href="https://t.co/Rqxpp7DXeU">pic.twitter.com/Rqxpp7DXeU</a>
— Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) <a href="https://twitter.com/IngrahamAngle/status/1940193218060026061?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 1, 2025</a></blockquote>
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GOP leaders in Congress have been racing to get the legislation to Trump by his stated deadline of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/down-to-the-wire-can-congress-meet-trumps-july-4-deadline-for-the-big-beautiful-bill" target="_blank" rel="noopener">July 4</a>. Topline items include extending the 2017 tax cuts, which are set to expire at the end of this year; boosting funds for border security and the military; cutting red tape for American energy production; and raising the debt ceiling by trillions of dollars.
<a class="c-link c-link--focus-visible" href="https://get.dailywire.com/freedom/?utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=freedom&amp;utm_content=freedomeditorial&amp;_gl=1*r8odly*_gcl_au*MTQ5MDUzNjQ0NC4xNzQ1ODQ0MzMyLjEwNDAyMzM0NDQuMTc0NzY1MzIxNy4xNzQ3NjUzMjE3*_ga*MTM1OTk4Njg2NS4xNzA2NzE2NTAy*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*czE3NTEyOTIzMDQkbzMyJGcxJHQxNzUxMjkyOTI5JGo1NyRsMCRoMA.." target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-stringify-link="https://get.dailywire.com/freedom/?utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=freedom&amp;utm_content=freedomeditorial" data-sk="tooltip_parent" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-75638">JULY 4 SALE: Get Six Months Of DW+ Free</a>
The Senate <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-scores-major-victory-as-vance-helps-push-big-beautiful-bill-through-senate" target="_blank" rel="noopener">passed</a> on Tuesday the 800+<a href="https://x.com/jamiedupree/status/1940096392199852393" target="_blank" rel="noopener">page</a> bill, which aims to fulfill many of Trump&#8217;s spending and tax-cut goals for his second term, by a 51-50 vote. Vice President JD Vance broke a tie after three Republicans — Sens. Thom Tillis (R-NC), Rand Paul (R-KY), and Susan Collins (R-ME) — broke ranks and opposed the measure.
In addition to raising concerns about Medicaid cuts, critics of the bill are spooked by estimates showing it would add trillions of dollars to the national debt. Its defenders insist the legislation will help grow the economy in a way that crushes the problem in the long term.
Musk, whose alliance with President Donald Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-says-hes-very-disappointed-with-elon-musk-fires-back" target="_blank" rel="noopener">crumbled</a> several weeks ago after he began openly criticizing the &#8220;One Big, Beautiful Bill,&#8221; warned on Monday that he would actively work toward ensuring GOP lawmakers who voted for the legislation, despite GOP campaign promises to rein in government spending, get voted out of office.
&#8220;Every member of Congress who campaigned on reducing government spending and then immediately voted for the biggest debt increase in history should hang their head in shame!&#8221; Musk <a href="https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1939776586989150590" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a post on X. &#8220;And they will lose their primary next year if it is the last thing I do on this Earth.&#8221;
Such a move would mark a massive turnaround for Musk, who <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/01/31/elon-musk-trump-donor-2024-election/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">spent more</a> than $250 million to help Trump and other Republicans win elections last year before spearheading the current administration&#8217;s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) effort through roughly the end of May with a stated mission of getting rid of waste, fraud, and abuse.
Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-doge-is-the-monster-that-might-have-to-go-back-and-eat-elon" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shot back</a> at Musk, who also proposed a new political party, suggesting that &#8220;DOGE is the monster that might have to go back and eat Elon&#8221; and suggested any subsidies his companies get might be in jeopardy. The president himself threatened to rally behind primary challengers against Republicans who oppose the bill. One of them, Tillis, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/tillis-buckles-to-trump-threat-wont-seek-reelection" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> on Sunday that he would not seek re-election. Another is Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), whom Musk <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/elon-musk-warns-republicans-vote-for-big-beautiful-bill-lose-your-next-primary" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> he would support.
Bessent voiced confidence in the bill&#8217;s prospects as the House considered the Senate-amended version, even as some GOP lawmakers derided <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/here-are-the-major-things-the-senate-changed-in-the-big-beautiful-bill" target="_blank" rel="noopener">changes</a> made by the upper chamber.
&#8220;President Trump has shown incredible leadership on this and in conjunction with Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA),&#8221; Bessent said, &#8220;I think they are going to hold the majorities together and push this forward.&#8221;

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent

‘If Elon Sticks To Rockets, I Will Stick To Finance’: Bessent Shrugs Off Musk Debt Drama

Congress

Elon Musk

Spending Bill

Tax Cuts

U.S. House of Representatives

The Trump administration’s Department of the Treasury on Wednesday announced sanctions on leaders of a ruthless Mexican drug cartel in a move that the federal agency says will hinder the organization’s drug trafficking operations.
The sanctions targeted five key figures of the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG), a vicious criminal enterprise that produces illicit drugs and traffics them into the United States.
“CJNG’s reign of terror across Mexico and its trafficking of fentanyl into the United States has destroyed countless innocent lives,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0169">said</a>. “The United States remains strongly committed to leveraging all available tools to degrade the capacity of CJNG and other cartels to flood our streets with dangerous drugs and perpetrate heinous acts of violence against civilians.”
Any property held by the five cartel members in the United States will now be frozen and reported to the federal government.
The Treasury Department described the organization as “a brutally violent cartel responsible for a significant share of fentanyl and other illicit drugs entering the United States,” adding, “It uses murder as a tactic to intimidate rivals, including sending messages to other cartels through the targeted killings of women.”
CJNG’s founder and leader, Ruben Oseguera Cervantes, known as “El Mencho,” was among the five men targeted.
“Under Oseguera’s direction, CJNG operatives have assassinated rivals, Mexican law enforcement, judges, and other government officials,” the Treasury Department noted, also pointing out that Oseguera’s leadership allowed the cartel to “function like a franchise business across several Mexican states,” allowing the criminal enterprise to spread across the country and rake in billions of dollars from the drug trade.
The Treasury also sanctioned Julio Alberto Castillo Rodriguez, who it identified as a senior CJNG member and the son-in-law of Oseguera. Castillo, believed to be a possible successor to Oseguera, operates a port in southwestern Mexico that the cartel uses to import fentanyl precursors.
Another target, Gonzalo Mendoza Gaytan, is known to recruit new CJNG members and train them at Izaguirre Ranch, a facility in the Mexican state of Jalisco, according to the Trump administration. Mendoza “directed lieutenants to train new CJNG recruits and kill those who defied instructions” and “has also been involved in the murder of numerous law enforcement officers,” the Treasury Department said.
The Treasury hit two more CJNG operatives, Audias Flores Silva and Ricardo Ruiz Velasco, with sanctions. Flores is a regional CJNG commander over several Mexican states and oversees laboratories that produce methamphetamine, while Ruiz runs the CJNG’s propaganda wing. Ruiz is also believed to have killed his girlfriend during a live social media broadcast.
The flurry of sanctions comes after the Treasury Department previously unveiled similar sanctions against members of the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trumps-treasury-dept-launches-sanctions-targeting-sinaloa-cartel">Sinaloa Cartel</a> and <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0146">Cartel de Noreste</a>. Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Michael Faulkender told The Daily Wire in an <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-treasury-official-reveals-how-the-trump-admin-is-choking-off-cartels-cash-flow?author=Spencer+Lindquist&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=28&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=EXCLUSIVE%3A+Treasury+Official+Lays+Out+How+Trump+Is+Choking+Off+Cash+Flow+To+Cartels">exclusive interview</a> that the sanctions are a key tool in the Trump administration’s fight against the Mexican drug cartels.
“If the money is not flowing back south, then there’s less of an incentive to bring the drugs and the guns and some of the illicit activity up to the north,” he explained.

CJNG Graffiti

Treasury Dept Sanctions Five Key Leaders Of Mexican Drug Cartel

Border

cartel

Crime

Department of the Treasury

Drug Cartels

Fentanyl

Mexico

Treasury Department

World

The GOP-led Senate passed on Tuesday a stablecoin regulation bill that supporters argued will help the United States become the &#8220;global leader&#8221; in cryptocurrency.
A bipartisan group of 68 senators voted in favor of the <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/1582/text" target="_blank" rel="noopener">GENIUS Act</a>, which prevailed after hitting a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/crypto-bill-falters-in-senate-for-now" target="_blank" rel="noopener">speed bump</a> in May before going through <a href="https://www.congress.gov/amendment/119th-congress/senate-amendment/2307" target="_blank" rel="noopener">amendments</a>. Another 30 members banded together in opposing the legislation.
Spearheaded by Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN), the measure seeks to create a framework for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/white-house-gop-leaders-pledge-major-crypto-bills-in-first-100-days" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stablecoins</a>, which are significant in digital asset exchanges and pegged to stable assets such as the U.S. dollar.
&#8220;The GENIUS Act will cement U.S. dollar dominance, protect customers, drive demand for U.S. Treasuries, &amp; ensure that digital asset innovation happens in the U.S., not overseas,&#8221; Hagerty said in a post on X. &#8220;With this bill, we are one step closer to becoming the global leader in crypto.&#8221;
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) was one of the lawmakers who voted against the bill. Sharing a Wall Street Journal article on how Walmart and Amazon are exploring their own stablecoins, she warned on Monday the legislation needed changes.
&#8220;If Congress doesn’t fix the GENIUS Act, billionaires like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos could launch stablecoins that track your purchases, exploit your data, and squeeze out competitors,&#8221; Warren <a href="https://x.com/SenWarren/status/1934686958875246824" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on X. &#8220;These billionaires will come begging for a taxpayer bailout when it inevitably blows up.&#8221;
Warren <a href="https://x.com/SenWarren/status/1934686958875246824" target="_blank" rel="noopener">added</a>: &#8220;The GENIUS Act has a major loophole allowing Big Tech companies and major retailers to issue their own private currencies structured as stablecoins. This bill shouldn&#8217;t pass without amendments preventing these risks.&#8221;
President Donald Trump&#8217;s administration has endorsed the bill, which now heads to the Republican-controlled House.
&#8220;Recent reporting projects that stablecoins could grow into a $3.7 trillion market by the end of the decade. That scenario becomes more likely with passage of the GENIUS Act,&#8221; Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent <a href="https://x.com/SecScottBessent/status/1935027160374210573" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on X.
&#8220;A thriving stablecoin ecosystem will drive demand from the private sector for US Treasuries, which back stablecoins. This newfound demand could lower government borrowing costs and help rein in the national debt. It could also onramp millions of new users—across the globe—to the dollar-based digital asset economy,&#8221; Bessent continued.
Insisting that it is a &#8220;win-win-win&#8221; for the private sector, the Treasury, and consumers, Bessent concluded: &#8220;These are the fruits of smart, pro-innovation legislation.&#8221;

Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN) speaks with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent

Senate Vote Pushes U.S. Toward Becoming ‘The Global Leader In Crypto’

Bill Hagerty

Cryptocurrency

Elizabeth Warren

Money

Technology

U.S. Senate

Wages for blue-collar workers are up more in the first five months of President Donald Trump’s second term than under any other president since 1969.
“Thanks to @POTUS’s pro-growth, America First policies, real wages for hourly workers are up nearly 2% in the first five months of @realDonaldTrump’s second term — the strongest growth in 60 years,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a post on X.
Bessent’s post includes a graph showing 1.7% wage growth for blue-collar workers, defined as nonsupervisory and production workers, during the first five months of Trump’s second term. The next highest wage growth rate for those workers since 1969 came during Trump’s first term, when it hit 1.3% over the first five months.
“No president has done that before — except President Trump in his first term. Hardworking Americans and Main Street businesses have never had a stronger ally in the @WhiteHouse,” Bessent said.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Thanks to <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a>’s pro-growth, America First policies, real wages for hourly workers are up nearly 2% in the first five months of <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realDonaldTrump</a>’s second term — the strongest growth in 60 years.
No president has done that before — except President Trump in his first term.… <a href="https://t.co/gasjQn33eb">pic.twitter.com/gasjQn33eb</a>
&mdash; Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (@SecScottBessent) <a href="https://twitter.com/SecScottBessent/status/1934992476105818400?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 17, 2025</a></blockquote>
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The rise in the wages of blue-collar workers has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/great-numbers-report-shows-no-significant-tariff-related-price-jumps-for-3rd-straight-month?author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=%E2%80%98Great+Numbers%21%E2%80%99%3A+Report+Shows+No+Significant+Tariff-Related+Price+Jumps+For+3rd+Straight+Month">coincided</a> with a decrease in inflation. Earlier this month, Consumer Price Index data from May showed that inflation has stayed somewhat steady since April. The report showed that inflation rose 2.4% last month after rising 2.3% in April.
The inflation data came in under economists’ expectations, which were set on a higher target because of tariffs’ expected impact on prices.
“CPI JUST OUT. GREAT NUMBERS! FED SHOULD LOWER ONE FULL POINT,” Trump posted on Truth Social at the time. “WOULD PAY MUCH LESS INTEREST ON DEBT COMING DUE. SO IMPORTANT!!!”
The White House is now pushing the One Big, Beautiful Bill to pass through Congress to “supercharge” the economy and provide fresh energy to some of the large-scale trends taking place, such as rising wages.
“The One Big Beautiful Bill will <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Preserving-and-Expanding-Low-Tax-Rates-to-Create-American-Economic-Prosperity.pdf">raise</a> take-home pay between $7,800 and $13,300 for the average family of four. It will increase wages between $6,100 to $11,600 for the average worker,” Bessent <a href="https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/1932808135863054443">told</a> Congress during a hearing last week.
Bessent has warned that the consequences for not passing the bill would be “cataclysmic.”
“It would be the largest tax hike in history. It would be a disaster for businesses, for working Americans, and for our status in the world,” he <a href="https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/1932868781040136656">told</a> lawmakers. “We would see increases in taxes of thousands of dollars on working Americans, we would see businesses contract, and we would see a substantial increase in the unemployment rate.”

Houston construction site

Under Trump, Blue-Collar Wages Soar At Fastest Rate Since 1969

blue-collar

U.S.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent remarked on Thursday that a &#8220;new version of TDS&#8221; seems to have emerged, specifically targeting President Donald Trump&#8217;s tariff policies, and reminded Democrats that they lost the presidential election last year while defending the sitting administration&#8217;s economic policies.
Shorthand for &#8220;Trump Derangement Syndrome,&#8221; TDS refers to a phenomenon characterized by intense negative reactions to Trump, his actions, or his supporters. Republican lawmakers recently <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/gop-searches-patient-zero-trump-derangement-syndrome-new-bill" target="_blank" rel="noopener">introduced</a> a bill in the House to begin a study of its origins and identify potential solutions.
During a hearing on Capitol Hill, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) <a href="https://x.com/RichSementa/status/1933185612636463228" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pressed</a> Bessent on whether American consumers are paying the tariffs amid Trump&#8217;s trade war with other countries after pointing out that the secretary himself <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bessent-speaks-to-walmart-ceo-dismisses-draconian-forecast-on-tariffs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">conceded</a> nearly a month ago that retail giant Walmart could pass on price increases to consumers.
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&#8220;There seems to be a new version of TDS, which I would call Tariff Derangement Syndrome,&#8221; says <a href="https://twitter.com/SecScottBessent?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecScottBessent</a>.
&#8220;Many on your side seem disappointed that there is no inflation &#8230; We saw the best inflation numbers since 2020, so there has been nothing passed on. There has been… <a href="https://t.co/KpYCPlUoA3">pic.twitter.com/KpYCPlUoA3</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1933174639531901157?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 12, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Bessent accused the Democrat of &#8220;cherry-picking&#8221; to suit a narrative. &#8220;Walmart makes decisions based on their customers&#8221; while he said two other large retailers, Amazon and Home Depot, have chosen not to pass along the cost of tariffs.
&#8220;There seems to be a new version of TDS, which I would call Tariff Derangement Syndrome, and many on your side seem disappointed that there is no inflation today,&#8221; Bessent <a href="https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/1933174639531901157" target="_blank" rel="noopener">continued</a>. &#8220;As a matter of fact, we saw the best inflation numbers since 2020, so there has been nothing passed on. There has been no tariff recession. So no inflation, no recession due to tariffs.&#8221;
&#8220;Democrats are so out of touch and partisan that they refuse to acknowledge the President’s inflation wins and would actually prefer to see numbers rise,&#8221; Bessent <a href="https://x.com/SecScottBessent/status/1933183375227171099">wrote</a> in a post on X with a clip of his back-and-forth with Wyden.
At another point during the hearing, Bessent chided Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) during an exchange in which the Democrat lawmaker was loudly talking about tax cuts.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/SecScottBessent?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecScottBessent</a> nukes <a href="https://twitter.com/SenatorBennet?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SenatorBennet</a> on President Trump&#8217;s tax cuts: &#8220;We had a referendum on November 5th on our economic policies. Your side lost.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/MLQ3AbZ36P">pic.twitter.com/MLQ3AbZ36P</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1933175478455611657?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 12, 2025</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;Sir, we had a referendum on November 5th on &#8230; economic policies. Your side lost,&#8221; Bessent said.
The secretary kept going, but Bennet started to speak over him.
&#8220;I agree with that, and I&#8217;m a rare Democrat who doesn&#8217;t blame Donald Trump for winning,&#8221; Bennet exclaimed. &#8220;I&#8217;m sad he won.&#8221;
Bessent shot back, &#8220;A higher decibel level does not give your statements more veracity.&#8221;

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

Bessent Identifies New Strain Of TDS, Reminds Dems They Lost The Election

Democrats

Inflation

Trump Derangement Syndrome

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent admitted he had to laugh when Rep. Richard Neal (D-MA) claimed that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) had implemented updated technology in recent years.
During a Thursday hearing on Capitol Hill, Bessent fielded questions from a number of House members on the One Big, Beautiful Bill — and he said that while he had &#8220;great respect&#8221; for Neal, he couldn&#8217;t help but be amused by his assertions regarding supposed improvements at the IRS.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
🚨NEW—Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent FACT-CHECKS Democrat Richard Neal!
NEAL: &#8220;A professor at Yale has said that this [OBBB] will conservatively cause tens of thousands of unnecessary deaths!&#8221;
BESSENT: &#8220;I have great respect for you&#8230;But respectfully&#8230;I chuckled!&#8221;
&#8220;IT at… <a href="https://t.co/BEAFP9dfzN">pic.twitter.com/BEAFP9dfzN</a>
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) <a href="https://twitter.com/townhallcom/status/1932812902416670948?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 11, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Neal began by claiming that improvements and &#8220;technological upgrades&#8221; were all thanks to former President Joe Biden&#8217;s Inflation Reduction Act, and that &#8220;cuts to Medicaid and SNAP&#8221; were going to lead to over a million lost jobs.
&#8220;A professor at Yale has said that this [OBBB] will conservatively cause tens of thousands of unnecessary deaths!&#8221; Neal continued. &#8220;Worse health care. Job losses. More borrowed money. The American people deserve considerably better than what we&#8217;re being told.&#8221;
Neal went on to &#8220;challenge&#8221; Bessent, saying that the minority side would work with the Trump administration if the bill would direct tax relief specifically to those making less than $400,000 in joint income.
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com/gift/?utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=wisepops&amp;utm_campaign=dad&amp;utm_content=fathersdaygiftpopups" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gift Dad an All Access Membership. Use code DAD40 at checkout to save 40%!</a>
&#8220;Mr. Neal &#8230; Representative Neal,&#8221; Bessent replied. &#8220;I have great respect for you. We&#8217;ve had great conversations, but respectfully, if I weigh a thousand pound and you weigh 50 and I gain ten pounds &#8230;&#8221;
Bessent attempted to explain how the 2017 tax cuts — which have been widely panned by Democrats — lowered taxes for lower income brackets and those with higher incomes shouldered much more of the burden.
&#8220;I can&#8217;t — I&#8217;m sorry, I chuckled when you talked about the IT at the IRS,&#8221; Bessent continued. &#8220;The program is 35 years behind schedule. 35 years. And is wasting $2 billion a year.&#8221;
&#8220;That&#8217;s why we put the extra money in!&#8221; Neal objected.
&#8220;No, no, no, no, no! The extra money went in for BODIES!&#8221; Bessent fired back. &#8220;And whistleblowers acknowledged that standards were being lowered to bring in new agents. Money is not the issue here. It is how the money is spent.&#8221;
&#8220;That&#8217;s exactly right, we agree on that,&#8221; Neal interjected. &#8220;How the money is spent.&#8221;
&#8220;And it has been spent poorly,&#8221; Bessent replied.

Treasury Sec Admits He ‘Chuckled’ When Democrat Boasted About Improvements At IRS

Joe Biden

Treasury

The audience attending a Capitol Hill hearing audibly <a href="https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/1932825191752646817" target="_blank" rel="noopener">groaned</a> on Wednesday when a House Democrat suggested Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had interrupted her because she is a woman.
Bessent attempted to push back against Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA) after the lawmaker said prices were rising for &#8220;many everyday goods&#8221; in the wake of the Trump administration&#8217;s trade war with other countries.
&#8220;No, congresswoman —,&#8221; Bessent interjected.
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SHAMEFUL: <a href="https://twitter.com/RepLindaSanchez?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RepLindaSanchez</a> baselessly accuses <a href="https://twitter.com/SecScottBessent?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecScottBessent</a> of being sexist because he tried to correct her lie that &#8220;prices are rising.&#8221;
FACT: Under <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a>, Americans have seen the first overall price decline since 2020. <a href="https://t.co/mQUe0D9otw">pic.twitter.com/mQUe0D9otw</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1932825191752646817?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 11, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Bessent sought to continue, apparently pointing to the Consumer Price Index showing that inflation <a href="https://www.axios.com/2025/06/11/cpi-may-2025-trump-inflation?utm_campaign=editorial&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=twitter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">slowed</a> in May, but Sanchez wasn&#8217;t having it.
&#8220;Please don&#8217;t interrupt me. The time is mine. The time is mine. Please don&#8217;t interrupt me,&#8221; Sanchez said. &#8220;I will ask you questions and I will grant you an opportunity to answer them, but please don&#8217;t interrupt me during my time.&#8221;
Bessent, who had stopped with his rebuttal, responded: &#8220;With pleasure.&#8221;
However, Sanchez kept going.
&#8220;I know I&#8217;m a woman, but please try to limit yourself to answering my questions,&#8221; Sanchez said.
An uproar of groans ensued, to which Sanchez replied, &#8220;No, I&#8217;m sorry but we get talked over all the time and I don&#8217;t want that to happen at this hearing.&#8221;
The blowback continued on social media.
The X account Libs of TikTok, run by Chaya Raichik, <a href="https://x.com/libsoftiktok/status/1932832882680344650" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> Sanchez &#8220;pretends to be a victim of sexism after getting caught LYING about price increases.&#8221; American Majority founder and CEO Ned Ryan <a href="https://x.com/nedryun/status/1932864560978858247" target="_blank" rel="noopener">quipped</a>, &#8220;Suddenly Dems know what a woman is. Fascinating.&#8221;
The White House&#8217;s &#8220;Rapid Response&#8221; account on X also condemned Sanchez
&#8220;SHAMEFUL: [Sanchez] baselessly accuses [Bessent] of being sexist because he tried to correct her lie that &#8216;prices are rising,'&#8221; it <a href="https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/1932825191752646817" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. &#8220;FACT: Under [President Donald Trump], Americans have seen the first overall price decline since 2020.&#8221;
Sanchez shot back at the White House.
&#8220;That&#8217;s not the truth. Even Fox News says that prices are rising due to Trump&#8217;s tariffs,&#8221; the Democrat <a href="https://x.com/RepLindaSanchez/status/1932841985951609345" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on X.
Sanchez linked to a Fox Business <a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/consumers-paying-costs-trumps-tariffs-new-york-fed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">article</a> on a Federal Reserve Bank of New York survey from early May that showed businesses saying that some or all the costs of higher tariffs were being passed on to consumers.

Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA)

Dem’s Sexism Jab At Treasury Secretary Bombs, Draws Groans During Hearing

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent testified Wednesday to a congressional committee in favor of President Donald Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill,” saying it would be &#8220;cataclysmic&#8221; for lawmakers to let the package die.
Bessent&#8217;s remarks came in response to a question from House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Tax Chairman Mike Kelly (R-PA).
“Let’s go to what actually is going to happen if this bill doesn’t get passed,&#8221; Kelly asked Bessent. &#8220;How is it going to affect hardworking American taxpayers?”
&#8220;It would be cataclysmic,&#8221; Bessent <a href="https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/1932868781040136656">responded</a>. &#8220;It would be the largest tax hike in history. It would be a disaster for businesses, for working Americans, and for our status in the world.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/SecScottBessent?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecScottBessent</a>: If the One Big Beautiful Bill doesn&#39;t pass, &quot;it would be cataclysmic. It would be the largest tax hike in history. It would be a disaster for businesses, for working Americans, and for our status in the world.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/Aaihs72JyP">pic.twitter.com/Aaihs72JyP</a>
&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1932868781040136656?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 11, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Bessent&#8217;s warning comes as the Senate considers whether or not it will pass the bill, which passed the House by just one vote. Two House Republicans <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/gop-holdouts-sound-alarm-36t-debt-crisis-trumps-big-beautiful-bill-passes-house-vote" target="_blank" rel="noopener">voted against</a> it. <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5341080-republicans-debate-fiscal-deficit-cuts/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Senate Republicans</a> seem divided on the bill, with  Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky notably <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5314189-rand-paul-house-gop-budget-bill/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">expressing</a> his dissatisfaction with the bill’s debt ceiling.
Replying to Kelly, Bessent warned that if the bill does not pass, “We would see increases in taxes of thousands of dollars on working Americans. We would see business contract, and we would see a substantial increase in the unemployment rate.”
Proponents of the bill, which <a href="https://taxpolicycenter.org/features/2025-tax-cuts-tracker#:~:text=TAX%20CUTS-,Expiring%20TCJA%20Provisions,set%20to%20expire%20after%202025.&amp;text=Near%20doubling%20of%20the%20standard,State%20and%20local%20taxes%20(SALT)" target="_blank" rel="noopener">extends</a> the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, argue that killing it threatens the national economy, while opponents claim that the bill only adds trillions to the national debt while reducing healthcare and nutrition benefits.
Kelly also asked Bessent to comment about what more can be done to move the economy in the right direction.
“The combination of small business and manufacturing, along with the President’s tax agenda for no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, a tax cut for seniors, and the ability to buy a new, American-made car and deduct the interest will solve this horrendous affordability crisis,&#8221; Bessent replied.
“The way to think about it, Congressman — we are dealing with two things here: we are dealing with affordability and we are dealing with inflation,” Bessent said.
“We are working to pull [affordability] down. That can be pulled down two ways: through price levels or [increasing] real wages. I think we can do both but the real fill-up here would be [to] increase real wages for working Americans.”
Later in the hearing, Representative David Kustoff of Tennessee reiterated Kelly’s concerns about the danger of killing the bill.
Bessent agreed, saying that, “I think it could set off a financial crisis the likes of which we have not seen since ‘08, ‘09.”

Senate Finance Committee Holds Confirmation Hearing For Scott Bessent

Not Passing ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Would Be ‘Cataclysmic,’ Treasury Secretary Warns

Budget

Rand Paul

Senate

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