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.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
&#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

Congress

Democrats

Donald Trump

Economy

Inflation

Politics

Scott Bessent

Tariffs

Trade War

Treasury Department

Trump Derangement Syndrome

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.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
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

U.S.

U.S. House of Representatives

Members of the House and Senate DOGE Caucuses on Thursday introduced a bill that would require all government agencies to use the kind of database checks espoused by Elon Musk — such as checking a Social Security number against a list of dead people — before issuing payments.
The bill could eliminate much of the $162 billion that the Government Accountability Office estimates the federal government pays improperly each year, they said — an amount <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/doge-says-it-saved-more-than-200-billion-in-trumps-first-100-days?author=Luke+Rosiak&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=12&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=100+Days+Of+DOGE%3A+Elon+Musk’s+Initiative+Says+It+Cut+%24200+Billion.+What’s+Next%3F">equal to</a> all savings DOGE says it has achieved by cutting contracts, grants, and leases.
It also represents an effort to codify President Donald Trump&#8217;s executive orders, as some conservatives grumble that Congress has not done enough to slash spending.
The “Delivering On Government Efficiency (DOGE) in Spending Act” is likely to pass with widespread support, as it essentially requires transparency and modern good-governance practices. If Democrats oppose it, they would essentially be opposing an effort to stop fraudulent payments.
The bill puts into law one of Musk’s findings, also captured in a Trump executive order: that the Treasury Department, which cuts the checks that other agencies authorize, is well situated to verify whether proposed payments are proper, and stop payment if information from one agency contradicts information from another.
&#8220;Prior to DOGE, Treasury did not put even the most essential information into its computer disbursement systems, which led to hundreds of billions of dollars of spending with no ability to account for basic things like why the payments were made,&#8221; Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) said in a statement. &#8220;The Treasury Department was also not empowered to double-check agencies’ work, leading to hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of fraud and improper payments.&#8221;
Ernst, who chairs the Senate DOGE Caucus, introduced the bill alongside Rep. Aaron Bean (R-FL), who chairs the House DOGE Caucus. The bill has 13 Senate co-sponsors.
The bill comes the same week that the government&#8217;s COVID watchdog released a report titled &#8220;Pre-Award Vetting Using Data Analytics Could Have Prevented Over <a href="https://pandemicoversight.gov/Fraud-Prevention-Alert-Pre-Award-Vetting-Using-Data-Analytics-Could-Have-Prevented-Over-79-Billion-in-Potentially-Fraudulent-Pandemic-Relief-Payments#" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$79 Billion</a> in Potentially Fraudulent Pandemic Relief Payments.&#8221; That number is entirely based on people using Social Security numbers that were either nonexistent or tied to the wrong names to collect Paycheck Protection Program loans, but which were paid out anyway.
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It &#8220;gives Treasury the ability to check relevant databases throughout the government for purposes of confirming eligibility to prevent fraudulent and improper payments. This will break the existing stovepiping that enables fraudsters to defraud multiple programs with the same information because government databases do not talk to one another,&#8221; Ernst said.
Agencies would be required to give Treasury’s “Do Not Pay” system access to relevant data before Treasury could approve their payments, allowing Treasury to automatically check across government agencies for information indicating a payment is improper. For example, Ernst previously exposed how thousands were receiving unemployment checks without the government realizing that they <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/thousands-of-pandemic-unemployment-claims-listed-the-names-of-still-employed-government-workers-senator-says" target="_blank" rel="noopener">were employed</a>&#8230;by the government.
Do Not Pay does not currently have access to people’s Social Security numbers, which would serve as an obvious source of truth to verify people’s ages and identities, even though the agency provides a similar tool to private banks.
Treasury would use the National Directory of New Hires to flag whether someone was still unemployed before approving welfare or unemployment payments. It would access Fair Credit Reporting Act information, the data used by credit score agencies, to confirm residency and income.
It would also have access to certain IRS data, including gross income and total Schedule C income, bank account number, and whether a tax return was filed in a particular year. Ernst said tax data would not be provided to Treasury, but rather the computer system would be able to ask the IRS system to answer yes-or-no questions, such as whether a particular person’s income was above a certain amount.
The Government Accountability Office has long warned that some government programs have massive fraud, such as tax returns filed using others&#8217; Social Security numbers to extract Earned Income Tax Credit welfare payments.
Inspectors general estimated in 2023 that fraud and improper payments in COVID bailouts totaled $400 billion. Coronavirus stimulus payments highlighted how the government has paid out billions of dollars without even attempting to verify claims using information that is in the hands of the government itself. For example, a USAID employee received a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/usaid-contracting-officer-charged-with-pandemic-bailout-fraud?author=Luke+Rosiak&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=7&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=USAID+Contracting+Officer+Charged+With+Pandemic+Bailout+Fraud">PPP loan for a fake business</a>, even though state corporation records would have shown the LLC was nonexistent, IRS records would have shown it didn&#8217;t make money in previous years, and Office of Personnel Management data would have shown that the person was employed by the government, not a company.
The bill would also require basic information about the purpose of payments to be filled in, instead of left blank, and for the information to be published publicly on the USASpending website.

Joni Ernst

DOGE Caucus Introduces Bill Aimed At $162 Billion In ‘Improper Payments’

DOGE

Elon Musk

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent challenged CBS journalist Margaret Brennan on Sunday over the potential inflationary impact of President Donald Trump&#8217;s tariffs.
In a &#8220;Face the Nation&#8221; <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/scott-bessent-treasury-secretary-face-the-nation-06-01-2025/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview</a>, Brennan insisted &#8220;the reality is there will either be less inventory or things at higher prices, or both.&#8221; Bessent shot back, <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/scott-bessent-treasury-secretary-face-the-nation-03-02-2025/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">alluding</a> to a previous conversation they had in March, days before Trump unleashed his &#8220;Liberation Day&#8221; tariffs upon the world.
&#8220;Margaret, when we were here in March, you said there was going to be big inflation. There hasn&#8217;t been any inflation,&#8221; Bessent said. &#8220;Actually, the inflation numbers are the best in four years. So why don&#8217;t we stop trying to say this could happen, and wait and see what does happen.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/SecScottBessent?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecScottBessent</a>: &#8220;When we were here in March, you said there was going to be big inflation. There hasn&#8217;t been any inflation. Actually, the inflation numbers are the best in four years. So why don&#8217;t we stop trying to say this COULD happen — wait and see what DOES happen.&#8221; 🔥 <a href="https://t.co/1LeTZf2UX1">pic.twitter.com/1LeTZf2UX1</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1929188418249965629?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 1, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Earlier, Brennan told Bessent that when he was on the program in March, the two of them were &#8220;trying to gauge&#8221; how American consumers might be affected by the tariffs. She then asked the Cabinet official where he is anticipating price increases.
&#8220;We wanted to make sure that there aren&#8217;t price increases, Margaret. And thus far, there have been no price increases. Everything has been alarmist,&#8221; Bessent said, adding that the &#8220;inflation numbers are actually dropping.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/SecScottBessent?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecScottBessent</a>: &#8220;We wanted to make sure that there aren&#8217;t price increases, Margaret — and thus far, there have been no price increases. Everything has been alarmist. The inflation numbers are actually dropping. We saw the first drop in inflation in four years.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/asuc8YnHYZ">pic.twitter.com/asuc8YnHYZ</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1929187165830869432?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 1, 2025</a></blockquote>
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A couple of weeks ago, the Labor Department <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/inflation-hits-lowest-point-in-over-4-years-as-april-report-better-than-expected" target="_blank" rel="noopener">released</a> data showing that inflation hit its lowest point — 2.3% — in four years, as Trump pursues trade deals with China and other countries hit by tariffs.
Brennan pressed Bessent on retailers such as Walmart, Best Buy, and Target <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/05/31/trump-tariffs-here-are-the-retailers-raising-prices.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">raising prices</a>. In response, Bessent noted that other companies, including <a href="https://www.axios.com/2025/05/20/home-depot-stock-prices-tariffs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Home Depot</a> and Amazon, have taken a different tack. And he pointed out, &#8220;I know what the South China Morning Post wrote within the past 24 hours that 65% — 65%! — of the tariffs will likely be eaten by the Chinese producers.&#8221;
&#8220;So are there five or eight areas that you have identified, as you said back in March, where American consumers will be able to have lower prices, or should be warned of higher prices?&#8221; Brennan asked.
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&#8220;Well, a lot of it&#8217;s already working its way through the system,&#8221; Bressent replied. &#8220;So we&#8217;ve seen a substantial decrease in gasoline and energy prices. So that&#8217;s down 20% year over year. We&#8217;ve seen the food prices go down, these notorious egg prices. Through the good work of President Trump and [Agriculture] Secretary [Brooke] Rollins, egg prices have collapsed. So we&#8217;re seeing more and more.&#8221;
He added: &#8220;And what we want to do is even that out across all sections of the economy. So inflation has been very tame. Consumer earnings were up 0.8% last month, which is a gigantic increase for one month. So real earnings minus low inflation is great for the American people, and that&#8217;s what we&#8217;re seeing.&#8221;
Brennen also questioned Bessent about the &#8220;One Big, Beautiful Bill&#8221; that passed through the GOP-led House and is now under consideration by the Republican-controlled Senate.
&#8220;In it is increase or suspension to the debt limit that you need delivered on by mid-July. How close of a brush with default could this be, given how massive some of the Senate changes are expected to be to the other parts of the bill?&#8221; Brennan asked.
&#8220;Well, first of all, Margaret, I will say the United States of America is never going to default. That is never going to happen. &#8230; We are on the warning track and we will never hit the wall,&#8221; Bessent said, adding later, &#8220;We don&#8217;t give out the X date because we use that to move the bill forward.&#8221;
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Scott Bessent &quot;confident&quot; U.S.-China trade details &quot;will be ironed out&quot; when Trump, Xi talk" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jTK0fDt9K78?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent Interview

Treasury Secretary Busts ‘Alarmist’ Inflation Predictions

CBS News

Margaret Brennan

President Donald Trump fires back at Vladimir Putin following Russia’s aerial attacks on Ukraine, the Treasury Department reveals a new approach to combating drug cartels, and Hollywood enjoys a record-breaking box office over Memorial Day weekend. 
It’s Tuesday, May 27, and this is the news you need to know to start your day.
Morning Wire is available on video! You can watch today’s episode here:
 
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Trump REBUKES Putin &amp; Cracks Down on the Cartels" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/h-cs4WQyzlc?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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If you’d rather listen to your news, today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below:
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<iframe style="width: 100%; max-width: 660px; overflow: hidden; border-radius: 10px;" src="https://embed.podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/russia-strikes-again-cartel-crackdowns-5-27-25/id1576594336?i=1000710071254" height="175" frameborder="0" sandbox="allow-forms allow-popups allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-storage-access-by-user-activation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation"></iframe>
<h2>Russia Strikes Ukraine</h2>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-925457" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/5.27.25-Story-Header-01.jpeg" alt="" width="640" height="360" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/5.27.25-Story-Header-01.jpeg 640w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/5.27.25-Story-Header-01-300x169.jpeg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" /></div>
Topline: President Trump rails against Russian President Vladimir Putin after he launches another aerial attack on Ukraine.
Over the weekend, Russia launched a series of air assaults on Ukrainian cities, deploying hundreds of attack drones and dozens of missiles. Those strikes killed at least 12 people and injured dozens more — many civilians — in what Ukraine <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/russian-drone-fragments-set-kyiv-apartment-building-ablaze-official-says-2025-05-24/">called</a> the most extensive aerial bombardment of the three-year war. 
In recent months, there had been hopes that a peace deal was within reach, but Putin appears to be making clear that he’s pushing ahead, despite increased threats of sanctions from the West. Ukrainian intelligence <a href="https://ca.news.yahoo.com/russias-casualties-war-against-ukraine-095937828.html?guccounter=1&amp;guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&amp;guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAM3atsZc41kCSRMKSfurjA_lU-16DhBVMjma8L5udzrwkvFa0KgXegrcgN4PLiL5kMS7G5o-tI97OUCDDVv0q_D28ERp7U8aWOO1ONbadwbiQg0sOb-32woFiDBFhUNANBcGjAoYOUBI1FcOyeD46QfZpkI09tXrEb_Zwy9CY8KJ">reportedly</a> shows that Moscow is gathering forces near the front line in preparation for a summer offensive. 
In response to those attacks, President Trump offered his <a href="https://x.com/yashar/status/1926775198956572815">strongest condemnation</a> of Putin to date. “I don&#8217;t know what the hell happened to Putin. I&#8217;ve known him a long time, always gotten along with him, but he&#8217;s sending rockets into cities and killing people, and I don&#8217;t like it at all. Okay, we&#8217;re in the middle of talking and he&#8217;s shooting rockets into Kiev and other cities.“ Later, on social media, the president appeared to make a veiled threat against Putin, <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114571369956761390">writing,</a> “I’ve always said that he wants ALL of Ukraine, not just a piece of it, and maybe that’s proving to be right. But if he does, it will lead to the downfall of Russia!” 
However, this new anti-Putin rhetoric hasn’t exactly led to friendlier relations with Ukraine. Trump also said over the weekend that “Zelensky is doing his country no favors by talking the way he does. Everything out of his mouth causes problems.” 
Meanwhile, on Friday, Trump accused the Europeans of being “difficult to deal with” during trade negotiations, saying “discussions are going nowhere.”  The president threatened a 50% tariff that would kick in on June 1. That seemingly got their attention, as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called the White House over the weekend to say “Europe is ready to advance talks swiftly and decisively.” As a result of that new willingness to make a deal, Trump agreed to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-delays-50-tariffs-eu-leader-blinks?author=Daniel+Chaitin&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=8&amp;row=3&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+News&amp;rowType=Vertical+Carousel&amp;title=Trump+Delays+50%25+Tariffs+On+EU+After+Its+Leader+Blinks">pause</a> his tariff hike until July 9 so an agreement could be reached. 
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<h2>Freezing Cartel Funds</h2>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-925459" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/5.27.25-Story-Header02.jpeg" alt="" width="640" height="360" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/5.27.25-Story-Header02.jpeg 640w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/5.27.25-Story-Header02-300x169.jpeg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" /></div>
Topline:  Trump enlists the Treasury Department in his sweeping crackdown on drug cartels.
President Trump promised a “whole of government” approach to combating drug cartels. While the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Border Patrol have obvious roles to play, the Treasury Department is taking steps to crack down on money laundering.
“One of the most important things that the president did upon coming into office was to declare a number of the narco groups terrorist organizations,” Deputy Treasury Secretary Michael Faulkender told The Daily Wire. “[That] unleashes additional authorities at Treasury for us to better target some of the financial activities that these cartels are engaging in. It&#8217;s one thing to have our partners at DHS work on stopping the flow of people and drugs, but we can also use our financial tools to go after the money – because if the money is not flowing back south, then there&#8217;s less of an incentive to bring the drugs and the guns and some of the illicit activity up to the north.”
Among other things, Faulkender explained why Brinks Global was fined $37 million. “There is a statute called the Bank Secrecy Act that requires that if you&#8217;re going to facilitate transfers of monetary sums, that you need to know who the party is that is receiving this money, that is engaging in this transaction. And so what we did is our Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, which is called FinCEN, they launched an investigation into how this money was flowing south of the border – and found that Brinks had facilitated some of these money transfers without knowing who the parties were that were participating in this transaction.”
For the full interview, check out the Morning Wire podcast.
&nbsp;
<h2>Box Office Bonanza</h2>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-925461" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/5.27.25-Story-Header-03.jpeg" alt="" width="640" height="360" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/5.27.25-Story-Header-03.jpeg 640w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/5.27.25-Story-Header-03-300x169.jpeg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" /></div>
Topline: The box office for the holiday weekend blew away expectations. Disney’s live-action &#8220;Lilo &amp; Stitch&#8221; and Paramount’s &#8220;Mission: Impossible 8&#8221; set records to kick off the summer blockbuster season.
&#8220;Lilo &amp; Stitch&#8221; and &#8220;Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning&#8221; provide a much-needed shot in the arm for theaters nationwide. According to studio estimates, &#8220;Lilo &amp; Stitch&#8221; grossed a staggering $183 million domestically. That’s an all-time Disney record for this time frame. Its global haul was $342 million. Meanwhile, &#8220;Mission: Impossible&#8221; brought in a franchise-best $77 million domestically and $190 million worldwide. Taken together, Hollywood hopes this is a game-changer for an industry that’s been fighting to regain that pre-pandemic momentum.
Social media buzz for &#8220;Lilo &amp; Stitch,&#8221; especially from younger women and parents, has been off the charts with an “A” CinemaScore signaling strong word-of-mouth. Posts on X captured the excitement, with fans showing up in Stitch merch and plushies, turning screenings into events. This kind of cultural resonance is exactly what Disney banks on with its IP-driven strategy – sometimes successfully, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/snow-white-bombs-with-one-of-disneys-lowest-opening-weekends-for-a-remake">sometimes not</a>.
While it didn’t reach the heights of &#8220;Lilo &amp; Stitch,&#8221; &#8220;Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning&#8221; is unquestionably a triumph for Tom Cruise. The film’s opening beat the previous franchise record set by &#8220;Mission: Impossible – Fallout&#8221; in 2018 by $14 million, not adjusted for inflation.
&nbsp;

MRN 05.27.25 Tue Thumbnail

Morning Brief: Trump Blasts Putin, Cartel Crackdowns & Box Office Bonanza

Cartels

Disney

Drug Cartels

Media

Mission Impossible

Morning Wire

Paramount

Russia

Tom Cruise

Ukraine

Ukraine-Russia War

Vladimir Putin

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Sunday that he does not believe President Donald Trump&#8217;s tariffs are risking a recession.
Stock market averages have plummeted in the days since Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-unleashes-liberation-day-tariffs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">unveiled</a> his &#8220;Liberation Day&#8221; tariffs on dozens of countries, boasting a 10% baseline and rates up to 50%, and J.P. Morgan <a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/after-trump-tariffs-jpmorgan-raises-chance-recession-60" target="_blank" rel="noopener">raised</a> the chance of a recession to 60%.
On NBC&#8217;s &#8220;Meet The Press,&#8221; moderator Kristen Welker presented &#8220;one of the big questions&#8221; during an interview with Bessent. &#8220;Recession, as you know, analysts say the chances of a recession are rising in the wake of the tariffs announced this week. Do you believe that President Trump&#8217;s tariffs are risking the chances of a recession?&#8221; she asked.
&#8220;I don&#8217;t,&#8221; Bessent said. &#8220;And I think we could see from the jobs number on Friday that it was well above expectations that, you know, we are moving forward. So I see no reason that we have to price in a recession.&#8221;
Bessent was referring to the monthly jobs report <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/we-cant-lose-march-job-growth-vastly-outpaces-expectations" target="_blank" rel="noopener">published</a> on Friday that showed 228,000 jobs were added to the economy in March, strongly outpacing the growth predicted by analysts.
&#8220;There doesn&#8217;t have to be a recession,&#8221; Bessent said earlier in the interview. &#8220;Who knows how the market is going to react in a day, in a week? What we are looking at is building the long-term economic fundamentals for prosperity that I think the previous administration had put us on a course toward financial calamity.&#8221;
Another &#8220;one of the big questions and points of confusion&#8221; focused on whether the tariffs will be permanent, with Welker noting that some Trump administration officials have said the tariffs are permanent while the president himself has indicated that he is open to negotiations.
Pressed to clarify, Bessent said, &#8220;I think that&#8217;s going to be a decision for President Trump. But I can tell you that as only he can do at this moment, he has created maximum leverage for himself. And more than 50 countries have approached the administration about lowering their non-tariff trade barriers, lowering their tariffs, stopping currency manipulation. And, Kristen, you know, they&#8217;ve been bad actors for a long time. And it&#8217;s not the kind of thing you can negotiate away in days or weeks.&#8221;
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Treasury Sec. Bessent says ‘there doesn’t have to be a recession’: Full interview" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LO1X6N0MfKw?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent

NBC Presses Treasury Sec. On Recession Fears, He Says Tariffs Have ‘Created Maximum Leverage’

The U.S. Treasury building and Hotel Washington were evacuated on Thursday morning following reports of a &#8220;suspicious package&#8221; near the White House.
NewsNation White House correspondent Libbey Dean said on X that the United States Secret Service (USSS) responded to the reports and now says the scene is &#8220;safe.&#8221;
&#8220;USSS responded to reports of a &#8216;suspicious package&#8217; outside the White House today near 15th and Pennsylvania Ave NW around 9:45 this morning,&#8221; Dean posted. &#8220;The scene is now safe, but parts of the Treasury Building and the Hotel Washington were evacuated, per USSS.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
USSS responded to reports of a “suspicious package” outside the White House today near 15th and Pennsylvania Ave NW around 9:45 this morning.
The scene is now safe, but parts of the Treasury Building and the Hotel Washington were evacuated, per USSS.
— Libbey Dean (@LibbeyDean_) <a href="https://twitter.com/LibbeyDean_/status/1907840480756556196?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 3, 2025</a></blockquote>
<a href="https://www.dcnewsnow.com/news/local-news/washington-dc/treasury-hotel-evacuated-after-suspicious-package-reported-near-white-house/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">According</a> to DC News Now, the Metropolitan Police Department’s Explosive Ordinance Disposal Team was also called to the scene, before the department determined the area safe, too.
The incident sparked road closures that might still be in effect, other reports indicate.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
The White House and Ellipse areas are closed downtown due to a suspicious package call. 15th to 17th all shut down. <a href="https://t.co/6xzZlhysXf">pic.twitter.com/6xzZlhysXf</a>
— Andrew Leyden (@PenguinSix) <a href="https://twitter.com/PenguinSix/status/1907826492580429994?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 3, 2025</a></blockquote>
This is a breaking story; refresh for updates.

US-POLITICS-ECONOMY-DEBT

Treasury Building Evacuates After Suspicious Package Found Near White House

U.S. Treasury Evacuated After Suspicious Package Found Near White House

Crime

Washington D.C.

White House

The Alliance Defending Freedom is demanding answers from the federal government about the Biden administration&#8217;s weaponization of government against conservatives as part of its push to combat alleged domestic extremism. 
On Monday, ADF filed Freedom of Information Act requests with the Treasury Department, the FBI, and the Department of Homeland Security about their work to combat so-called extremism under President Joe Biden. ADF believes that the information gleaned from the requests will shed greater light on how the Biden administration ordered banks to spy on the financial records of conservative Americans. 
“We sent these requests based on the belief that big banks and Big Tech are just as threatening to freedom as big brother,” Alliance Defending Freedom legal counsel Mercer Martin told The Daily Wire. “We have been going through the mounting evidence that the government, through these organizations, was enlisting big business and banks in its censorship schemes.” 
The FOIA request focuses largely on two aspects of the government’s actions under Biden.
First, ADF wants to know more about how the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) flagged conservative-coded transactions for potential investigation. Second, ADF wants to know the nature of the government’s work with private organizations, to identify domestic extremism and target so-called misinformation. 
Overall, Martin said the is was to identify how the Biden administration worked to “outsource censorship to private organizations and businesses.&#8221;
The FOIAs filed with the Treasury Department seek information on FinCEN’s “relationship with private organizations purportedly to combat domestic violent extremism” and “the government’s warrantless surveillance of Americans’ private financial information.”
It was previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/feds-flagged-terms-like-trump-maga-for-banks-to-comb-through-customer-data-jordan-says" target="_blank" rel="noopener">revealed</a> that top officials at FinCEN ordered banks to comb through customer data if terms like “TRUMP” or “MAGA” were used in transactions. Banks were also provided to provide information if customers had purchased religious texts or subscriptions to “extremist” media outlets. 
ADF’s requests would require the Treasury Department to provide documents and communications with key words like “Christian,” “Catholic,” “radical traditional,” “Southern Poverty Law Center,” “capitol riot,” and January 6. 
The FOIAs also asked for communications between the Treasury Department and the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, an organization that labeled ADF a “hate group” in a report that was linked to by FinCEN. 
ADF’s FOIAs of the FBI seek information on the any documents related to the Southern Poverty Law Center, a far-Left organization the bureau <a href="https://judiciary.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/republicans-judiciary.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/2023-12-04-the-fbis-breach-of-religious-freedom-the-weaponization-of-law-enforcement-against-catholic-americans.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cited</a> in a memo warning about the radical about “radical-traditional Catholic” ideology
“The reason we’re interested in their work with the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Institute for Strategic Dialogue is that [the government was] using those organizations’ lists of so-called hate groups or targeted groups, they were using those lists to then encourage banks and financial organizations to target their customers based on those lists,” Martin told The Daily Wire. 
The FOIAs also request information on the FBI’s work with the Domestic Security Alliance Council to “collect Americans’ personal financial information from private financial institutions and encourage private financial institutions to monitor Americans’ financial activity.”
The Domestic Security Alliance is a public-private partnership that purportedly <a href="https://www.dsac.gov/about">exists</a> to promote “the timely and effective exchange of security and intelligence information between the federal government and the private sector.”
In a third FOIA to the FBI, ADF requested that the bureau provide any communications with key words like “disinformation,” “election integrity,” “election interference,” “hate speech,” or “lab leak” and Big Tech companies like Google, Instagram, Facebook, and others. 
Along similar lines, the request to the DHS ask for documents on its work to combat alleged domestic extremism with private organizations and the flagging of Americans’ banking transactions. 
Martin said that the goal of the requests was to bring accountability to the government and determine whether individuals’ constitutional rights had been violated. 
“If we find that the Biden administration was violating individuals constitutional rights, we are interested in taking action to vindicate those rights as well,” he said.

President Biden Addresses NAACP Convention In Las Vegas

EXCLUSIVE: Alliance Defending Freedom Demands Answers On Biden Admin Censorship

Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF)

Biden Administration

Censorship

Department of Homeland Security

Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC)

Oklahoma Senator James Lankford urged his colleagues to permanently overturn an “absurd” Biden-era regulation that requires small business owners to report personal information to the federal government. 
Lankford told The Daily Wire that the Senate should <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-admin-wont-enforce-outrageous-biden-era-small-business-reporting-rule" target="_blank" rel="noopener">follow</a> the Trump administration&#8217;s lead and prohibit enforcement of the beneficial ownership information reporting requirements for American companies. The rule, as promulgated by the Biden administration, required people who had direct or indirect control of a company to report their name, birthdate, address, and a unique identifying number to the Treasury Department.
“There is no way anyone is going to ever tell me and convince me that the Constitution allows the federal government to go to every small business and say, ‘tell me who your influences are and send me that in a form’. That is not the job of the federal government to go do that,” Lankford told The Daily Wire. 
The Trump administration announced on Sunday that it would stop enforcing the rule for domestic businesses and that it would be promulgating a new rule only applicable to foreign companies. 
Lankford said that the Biden administration had taken a statute that was “snuck” into a National Defense Authorization Act to supposedly combat money laundering and created an “over-burdensome” and “quasi-Orwellian” unconstitutional rule that did more to harm honest small business owners than illicit companies. 
He said the rule made a massive &#8220;assumption that companies that are laundering drug money will suddenly at that moment become honest and report that they are actually being controlled by a drug kingpin. The practical effect of the rule was to force small business owners to prove that they were laundering drug money,&#8221; Lankford said. 
Consequences for not complying with the form, which Lankford said many small businesses were unaware of, could include a $10,000 fine and up to two years in prison. 
“Small businesses don’t get up every day and read the federal register to be able to find out what it is the federal government is now imposing on them as a new regulation for a new piece of paper to be able to get in or face jail,” he said. “They’re getting up and turning lights on, cleaning toilets, and doing all the things they need to do to get their business going that day.”
Senate Republicans have previously introduced multiple bills to challenge the rule and Lankford said that the Senate Banking Committee is expected to hear one of the proposals in light of the decision from the Trump administration. Recently, Republicans on the committee <a href="https://www.banking.senate.gov/newsroom/majority/scott-leads-effort-to-ease-burdens-on-small-businesses" target="_blank" rel="noopener">introduced</a> a measure that would have bumped the deadline for small businesses to report the required information. 
Last month, the House of Representatives voted unanimously to extend the deadline for businesses to respond to the Treasury Department, which had previously been scheduled for March 21. 
“This is one of those things that every small business just wants this gone so that they don’t have to think about it all the time and be worried about if they are going to go to jail tomorrow because of a form not being filled out,” Lankford told The Daily Wire.

Congressional Lawmakers React To The Expiration Of The Title 42 Border Policy

Lankford Urges Senate To Permanently Overturn ‘Absurd’ Biden Small Business Reporting Rule

James Lankford

Senate

Small Businesses

Trump Administration

The Trump administration announced on Sunday that it would end an “outrageous” Biden-era regulation that required business owners to report personal data to the federal government. 
The Treasury Department <a href="https://x.com/USTreasury/status/1896348155522039985" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that it would no longer be enforcing penalties or fines for domestic companies in relation to beneficial ownership information reporting requirements that were implemented under former President Joe Biden. The rule required people who had direct or indirect control of a company to report their name, birthdate, address, and a unique identifying number to the Treasury Department. 
“Exciting news! The Treasury Department has announced that they are suspending all enforcement of the outrageous and invasive Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) reporting requirement for U.S. Citizens,” Trump said in a <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114096106742782827">post</a> on Truth Social. “This Biden rule has been an absolute disaster for Small Businesses Nationwide. Furthermore, Treasury is now finalizing an Emergency Regulation to formally suspend this rule for American businesses. The economic menace of BOI reporting will soon be no more.”
Advocates for the rule, which was imposed through the Corporate Transparency Act, argue it was necessary to combat money laundering while opponents said it was overly burdensome and harmed American small businesses. 
“Treasury takes this step in the interest of supporting hard-working American taxpayers and small businesses and ensuring that the rule is appropriately tailored to advance the public interest,” the department <a href="https://x.com/USTreasury/status/1896348162039935338">said</a> on X. 
 The department said it would still enforce the rule against foreign companies, but would be issuing a new rule to remove the requirements for American companies. 
“This is a victory for common sense,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said. “Today’s action is part of President Trump’s bold agenda to unleash American prosperity by reining in burdensome regulations, in particular for small businesses that are the backbone of the American economy.”
Last month, Republicans on the Senate Banking Committee <a href="https://www.banking.senate.gov/newsroom/majority/scott-leads-effort-to-ease-burdens-on-small-businesses" target="_blank" rel="noopener">introduced</a> a measure that would have bumped the deadline for small businesses to report the required information. 
“Small businesses are the backbone of our economy, and we need to ensure they have the necessary time and information to comply with reporting requirements from the federal government,” said Senator Tim Scott (R-SC). “This commonsense bill will ensure small businesses are protected and not overly burdened by unclear and unnecessarily complicated regulations – allowing them to focus on serving their customers while following the law.”

Trump Says Mexico, Canada, New China Tariffs Take Effect March 4

Trump Admin Won’t Enforce ‘Outrageous’ Biden-Era Small Business Reporting Rule

Joe Biden

On Wednesday, a House Republican unveiled articles of impeachment against a federal judge in New York who temporarily restricted Trump administration officials, including the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), from accessing a payment system of the Treasury Department.
The articles of impeachment introduced by Rep. Eli Crane (R-AZ) accuse U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer, an Obama appointee, of high crimes and misdemeanors after his recent <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-admin-takes-action-after-obama-judge-blocks-doge-from-searching-for-waste-in-treasury-system" target="_blank" rel="noopener">order</a> that favored 19 Democrat state attorneys general who had sued over DOGE&#8217;s ability to access the system that reportedly oversees trillions of dollars in payments each year.
When Crane shared his articles to X on Wednesday, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/white-house-musk-is-not-the-doge-administrator" target="_blank" rel="noopener">presidential adviser</a> Elon Musk — who has been spearheading the DOGE effort to reduce government waste — <a href="https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1892324956135989334" target="_blank" rel="noopener">responded</a>, &#8220;Good.&#8221; Crane <a href="https://x.com/RepEliCrane/status/1892344868174799074" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a reply: &#8220;If these activist judges want to be politicians, they should resign and run for office.&#8221;
One of two articles that appear in Crane&#8217;s resolution, which is <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-resolution/143/text/ih?overview=closed&amp;format=xml" target="_blank" rel="noopener">available online</a>, alleges Engelmayer &#8220;engaged in judicial misconduct&#8221; when the judge halted Trump&#8217;s executive order establishing and implementing DOGE on &#8220;purely political grounds, demonstrating clear bias and prejudice against the President and the 74,000,000 Americans who voted for him.&#8221;
It further states that Engelmayer &#8220;acted outside the bounds of judicial propriety,&#8221; including &#8220;by submitting this ruling that demonstrates clear bias and prejudice against the President;&#8221; and &#8220;by willfully disregarding established legal precedent in the issuance of rulings, by submitting this injunction in the middle of the night, which may have been done with the intent to influence the outcome of cases to favor certain parties.&#8221;
The second article says Engelmayer &#8220;has abused his judicial office by using his authority to further personal or political interests, contrary to the constitutional responsibility to apply the law impartially, including the improper handling of this case in a manner that demonstrates favoritism or undue influence, undermining the fundamental principles of justice.&#8221;
Judges have been the subject of impeachment proceedings over the course of United States <a href="https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures/impeachment/impeachment-list.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">history</a>. Some cases have resulted in a guilty verdict and removal from office. It remains to be seen whether this latest push will be taken up by leadership in the House, which is currently led by Republicans.
Crane revealed last week he would be drafting articles of impeachment after Engelmayer issued the temporary restraining order and before a second federal judge <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/judge-continuing-block-musk-doge-accessing-treasury-payment/story?id=118825220" target="_blank" rel="noopener">kept it in place</a> while considering a preliminary injunction.
&#8220;Partisan judges abusing their positions is a threat to democracy,&#8221; Crane said on X. &#8220;The left has done &#8216;irreparable harm&#8217; to this country. President Trump and his team at @DOGE are trying to fix it.&#8221; In a second post, the congressman <a href="https://x.com/RepEliCrane/status/1889325208009338884" target="_blank" rel="noopener">added</a>: &#8220;This is obviously judicial overreach. Judge Engelmayer is attempting to stop White House employees from accessing the very systems they oversee. Where in the constitution does it say a President and his team cannot root out obvious waste, fraud and abuse?&#8221;

Republican Moves To Impeach Obama Judge Who Restricted DOGE Access To Treasury Payment System

Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)

Impeachment

Judge

About $4.7 trillion in payments from the Treasury Department were missing a code that allowed them to be tracked, according to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) project.
DOGE, led by billionaire Elon Musk, announced its discovery on X.
“The Treasury [Account] Symbol (TAS) is an identification code linking a Treasury payment to a budget line item (standard financial process),” the post said. “In the Federal Government, the TAS field was optional for ~$4.7 Trillion in payments and was often left blank, making traceability almost impossible. As of Saturday, this is now a required field, increasing insight into where money is actually going.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
The Treasury Access Symbol (TAS) is an identification code linking a Treasury payment to a budget line item (standard financial process).
In the Federal Government, the TAS field was optional for ~$4.7 Trillion in payments and was often left blank, making traceability almost…
— Department of Government Efficiency (@DOGE) <a href="https://twitter.com/DOGE/status/1891614960452522187?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 17, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Musk also touted the announcement, calling it a “[m]ajor improvement in Treasury payment integrity.”
“This was a combined effort of <a href="https://x.com/DOGE">@DOGE</a>, <a href="https://x.com/USTreasury">@USTreasury</a> and <a href="https://x.com/federalreserve">@FederalReserve</a>,” Musk added. “Nice work by all.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Major improvement in Treasury payment integrity going live!
This was a combined effort of <a href="https://twitter.com/DOGE?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DOGE</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/USTreasury?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@USTreasury</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/federalreserve?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@FederalReserve</a>. Nice work by all. <a href="https://t.co/MDJXS4oaqP">https://t.co/MDJXS4oaqP</a>
— Elon Musk 𝕏 (@Elonmusk49018) <a href="https://twitter.com/Elonmusk49018/status/1892106330430701584?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 19, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The Treasury Department was one of the first agencies DOGE looked into following President Donald Trump’s inauguration, the New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/02/17/us-news/doge-discovers-4-7-trillion-in-treasury-payments-were-missing-critical-code/">reported</a>. DOGE is looking for waste, fraud, and abuse, and said it has so far exposed billions of wasted taxpayer dollars. Just recently, DOGE said it could save taxpayers “at least $750 million” a year by “deleting paper checks.”
DOGE said that the Treasury Department has to keep a “physical lockbox” to collect more than 100 million checks it processes each year, according to the Post, costing taxpayers around $2.40 per check to maintain. In fiscal year 2023, DOGE found, around $25 billion in tax refunds were lost or delayed because of returned or expired checks.
“This is not some roving band … This is methodical and it is going to yield big savings,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Bloomberg TV last week, referring to DOGE’s efforts.
The Treasury is not the only department DOGE has scrutinized in the first few weeks of the Trump administration. It has focused heavily on USAID, which spent millions of dollars on DEI and left-wing politics around the world and even paid the college tuition <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/usaid-paid-college-tuition-for-al-qaeda-terrorist-records-show">of an Al-Qaeda terrorist</a> who lied about his resident country.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/doge-finds-shocking-government-expenditures-not-approved-by-congress-mike-johnson">recently praised</a> DOGE’s work, saying it was effectively an outside audit exposing hidden expenses.
“We are applauding that, this is what we have been wanting and trying to do for a long time,” Johnson said. “So this is a good development. I wish the courts would allow the executive and the legislative branches to work, but we’ll see how all that develops.”

DOGE Says $4.7 Trillion In Treasury Payments Missing Code To Trace Where Money Went

DOGE Finds $4.7 Trillion In Treasury Payments Missing Code To Trace Where Money Went

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