Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent appeared before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs on Thursday. Having been publicly embarrassed during a hearing the day prior, Bessent was no more prepared for an interrogation on President Donald Trump’s failing economic policies this time around.
Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts dismantled Bessent’s attempts to blame Trump’s distressed economy on former President Joe Biden and Democrats, cutting through his deflection and demanding to know whether grocery prices had dropped since Trump returned to office.
In response, Bessent claimed that “numerous prices” had fallen.
“I'm sorry, I don't know if you can't hear me. Did grocery prices drop in 2025?” Warren asked again, before citing Trump’s own Bureau of Labor Statistics’ report that consumer costs were 2.4% higher at the end of 2025 than they were at the end of 2024.
“So if you're just going to insult people by denying the facts that are out there and tell people they're doing great when they're struggling, I think that's just another way to say you don't have a plan to bring down these prices,” Warren added.
Warren then shifted to Kevin Warsh, Trump’s nominee to replace Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. A former Fed official, Warsh is best known for backing nearly every wrong position during the 2008 financial crisis.
Related | 'Did you lie?': Democrat humiliates Trump's treasury secretary
Referencing Trump’s recent comment that he would sue Warsh if he didn’t lower interest rates, Warren said, “At least I think it was a joke,”
“Can you commit right here and now that Trump's Fed nominee Kevin Warsh will not be sued, will not be investigated by the Department of Justice if he doesn't cut interest rates exactly the way that Donald Trump wants?” she asked.
“I, I … that is up to the president,” Bessent said before attempting to turn the questioning around on Warren.
“I'm sorry, you can’t say that he won’t be sued if he doesn’t drop interest rates and he won't be criminally investigated?” Warren exclaimed. “That was supposed to be the softball.”
The Trump economic agenda: deny the numbers; threaten critics and regulators; and lie, lie, lie.
Walter Einenkel February 05, 2026 at 10:30PM From Daily Kos
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