Treasury's Bessent 'laser focused' on cutting deficit, lambasts 'fake news'

Investing.com -- In a wide-ranging interview with Breitbart, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. consumer is in “great shape,” and the administration is “all hands on deck” to get inflation and the deficit under control and then grow the economy.

Bessent said the priority of the Trump administration is to “get spending under control.” He said while the mainstream media often mocks or parodies DOGE, “this is serious business.”

The Treasury Secretary said there is broad agreement that the federal government could operate more efficiently with fewer personnel and a more effective use of taxpayer dollars.

“So we’re trying to bring down the spending, and we’re determined to do that,” he said. “We’re trying to right-size the federal government. We are committed to that.”

Bessent highlights that significant progress has already been made—oil prices have come down, egg prices are 25% below their peak, and mortgage rates have come down.

“It’s kind of at all hands on deck, all areas of government, that we are trying to do that,” he commented.

The Treasury Secretary’s comments that consumers are healthy follows meeting with several large bank executives and payment processors this week.

“I’ve met with several large bank executives and payment processors this week. The American consumer is in great shape. Their spending,” he said.

The Treasury Secretary added that business loan volume in some areas of the country has also picked up.

“I met with one of the five largest bank CEOs today. He said that small, medium manufacturing in the Midwest, they’ve seen a tick up in loan volume,” Bessent added.

For those criticizing the Trump administration’s approach to the economy, he said, “Were all these people when the Biden administration was blowing out the deficit?”

Bessent explained that they had the option to continue with the current high levels of spending, which might have sustained things for a year, two years, or even four. However, doing so would have left the next president, their administration, and the American people to deal with the consequences—or risked an unpredictable financial collapse. Instead, he emphasized that their priority is to get the deficit under control while also focusing on growing the economy.

“… we are laser focused on getting this deficit under control and then growing the economy,” he said.

Bessent also had some words to say about ‘fake news’. The former hedge fund titan said when he was on the outside, he never liked the phrase ’Fake News.’ But now that he’s on the inside and sees what the media is reporting, he realizes that the term “might not even be strong enough."

Original Article

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