Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent battled it out with Democratic Rep. Linda Sanchez of California during a hearing of the House Ways and Means Committee Thursday.
Sanchez accused Bessent of being complicit with what she called corruption of the Trump administration when they entered a shouting match at the end of her comments.
‘The congresswoman is slanderous. She has nothing but the unsubstantiated opinions, and I will not stand for that!’
She asked him about whether he had reviewed the decision to give the president’s family complete immunity from being audited by the Internal Revenue Service.
“Why are you allowing President Trump and his family to have complete immunity from being audited?” Sanchez asked.
“Since you’re a lawyer, you will understand that the U.S. Treasury and the IRS are represented by the Justice Department and the acting attorney general,” Bessent responded.
Sanchez interrupted and accused Bessent of refusing to answer questions about the immunity order.
“I’m curious to know who counts as Trump’s ‘family’ for the purposes of this immunity. Is it his children, his in-laws, his grandchildren, his second or third cousin, his great-great-grandchildren? Do you know the answer to that question, Mr. Secretary?” she asked.
“Again, I imagine you have the Justice Department phone number. I suggest you call them,” Bessent responded.
“I’m not the one that runs the Department of the Treasury or that oversees what is happening with this immunity that has been granted,” Sanchez fired back.
“I’m not the one either,” Bessent said. “We follow the instructions of our lawyers, and we obey the law.”
“I hope that you’re proud of your performance today,” Sanchez said.
“Well, I hope you get some social media clips!” Bessent said to Sanchez.
“I think it’s pretty safe to say that this is probably the most corrupt Treasury Department in our nation’s history!” Sanchez said.
“I am going to have to take exception to that. That is a slanderous statement!” Bessent hollered.
“While you dance around questions to protect Trump, Americans are suffering in Trump’s spiraling economy. Inflation is now raising faster than average hourly wages, gas prices are at an all-time high with the war in Iran,” Sanchez said.
“Nah!” Bessent interjected.
“The price of groceries has risen 3.2% over the past years, and prices on most goods have gone up because of Trump’s tariffs,” she continued. “So I don’t see how you can call that anything other than a failure of the most corrupt Treasury Department in history.”
Bessent was given the chance to respond after Sanchez’s time was over.
“The congresswoman is slanderous. She has nothing but the unsubstantiated opinions, and I will not stand for that!” Bessent hollered.
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“There is nothing corrupt. We move at the highest levels, and just because she cannot get the answer she wants, if she would like to give me facts — she seems … short on facts, long on hot air. And I will not stand for that,” he added.
“It’s a disgrace to make a remark like that,” Bessent concluded.
The IRS audit immunity order was announced by the Justice Department as a part of the $20 billion lawsuit from the president over the leak of his IRS documents.
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