‘You’re Gaslighting The American People’: Maxine Waters Accuses Bessent Of Steering U.S. Towards Recession

During a House Financial Services Committee hearing on Wednesday, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) slammed Scott Bessent’s actions as Treasury Secretary.

Transcript

00:00for four minutes for an opening statement. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Since the first day of the Trump

00:06administration, members of Congress and the American public have demanded transparency and

00:12accountability regarding the economic calamity this regime has caused. Instead, we've been met

00:19with flat out lies, deception, and unfathomable level of gaslighting by officials like today's

00:27witness. Secretary Vicente, you are about to go down in history as the man who oversaw

00:34one of the most significant economic downfalls in modern history. The U.S. economy, which had

00:40the strongest recovery from the pandemic compared to other large economies in the world, is now

00:46falling behind. In the first quarter since Trump took office, the United States economy

00:51shrank, with our gross domestic product decreasing by 0.3 percent. We are falling behind while

01:02Canada, Europe, and China are racing ahead. What happened to the golden age you and President

01:08Trump promised the American people? Ms. Renset, you are also the face of what the Hall Street

01:15Journal has described as, and I quote, the dumbest trade war in history. As a result of this stupidity,

01:22U.S. stock markets have experienced the worst first 100 days of any presidential term in more

01:29than 50 years. America's CEOs are sounding the alarm of what's to come. Empty shelves and higher prices

01:37that the American consumer will pay. Companies are already running out of inventory. Port volume is down,

01:45and small businesses are warning that they will not survive this. Moreover, inflation remains a problem,

01:52and housing affordability continues to be a challenge, with home builders estimating Trump's tariffs will add

02:01$11,000 to each new home they build. I have no doubt that what I'm telling you, I'm telling you stuff you already know.

02:10It has already been reported that you yourself admitted at an April 22nd closed-door investor

02:17summit that Trump's tariffs on China are, quote, unsustainable, quote, unquote. But in public,

02:24you have twisted yourself into a press tool trying to justify them. You're gaslighting the American people

02:30into believing that this chaos is all a part of some master plan. Well, if the plan

02:37is to steer the U.S. economy into a recession, as economists are predicting, then it's working.

02:44Economists say Trump tariffs will cost, on the average, each American family nearly $5,000 more per year.

02:53Mr. Besson, because you and your ultra-wealthy group of insiders can afford this,

03:00most Americans cannot. The American people also deserve to know why you handed Elon Musk

03:08and his Doge Minions access to Treasury's payment system and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's database.

03:16Today, you need to tell the American people why you're dismantling agencies that protect consumers

03:24from financial fraud and abuse and weakening ones meant to support the small businesses struggling

03:31under the weight of your policies. You need to answer for this, and you need to answer for why

03:37senior members of this administration are trying to make a buck off of this market manipulation and blatant,

03:47brazen corruption. Chairman Hill, if I were you, I'd swear this witness in before he begins his testimony.

03:54Chairman Hill, if I were you.

03:55Chairman Hill, if I were you.