Scott Bessent Wrecks Rep Maxine Waters Over DOGE, Meeting Memory Fail [WATCH]

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent appeared before the House Financial Services Committee this week, where an exchange with Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) quickly turned contentious and ultimately backfired on the longtime California Democrat, as reported by The Gateway Pundit.

The hearing, held to examine the state of the international financial system, comes just days before Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer are scheduled to meet with Chinese officials in Geneva, marking the first high-level U.S.-China financial talks since President Donald Trump reinstated tariffs on Chinese imports.

Rather than focusing on the upcoming trade summit, Waters used her time to press Bessent about access to Treasury systems by individuals associated with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a project that has reportedly saved billions in taxpayer funds.

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Waters questioned whether DOGE personnel had the appropriate security clearances before accessing Treasury, IRS, and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau systems.

“Do you know the level type or nature of the clearances and the security training required for individuals to access the information held in the computers of the Treasury, IRS, or CFPB?” Waters asked.

After Bessent confirmed that he did, Waters demanded to know whether those granted access had received all necessary clearances and training.

Bessent responded by noting that the individuals in question were given read-only access, meaning they could not alter or modify any documents. Waters interrupted, accusing him of opening the door to unvetted individuals.

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“You let these strangers into our Treasury with access to all of the data, all of the personnel information…You just opened the door!” she said.

Bessent calmly corrected her. “No ma’am. They were Treasury employees,” he said.

Waters then attempted to cite the case of Marko Elez, a former software engineer with ties to DOGE, who had briefly resigned over social media controversy but was later reinstated.

“Are you saying today, in front of this committee, that all of them were Treasury employees…That the 25-year-old who’s being identified worked for Elon Musk was allowed into the Treasury?” she asked.

“He was a Treasury employee as was Tom Krause, the senior person on the DOGE team. There were only two people,” Bessent answered before being interrupted again.

“There were DOGE employees also!” Waters insisted.

“Ma’am, there is no such thing as a DOGE employee,” Bessent clarified. “They were Treasury employees.”

MUST WATCH: @SecScottBessent shuts down Fake News Hoaxes peddled by @RepMaxineWaters:

“You let these strangers into our Treasury with access to all of the data…”

“No, ma’am. They were Treasury employees.” pic.twitter.com/CS0YhHDNOW

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 7, 2025

The exchange concluded with another misstep from Waters, who incorrectly claimed it was their first meeting. “This is the first time we have met. Is that correct?” she asked.

“No ma’am,” Bessent replied. “We actually met one New Year’s Eve in the Bahamas.”

“Why don’t I remember that?” Waters asked.

“You weren’t much better at the electric slide than I was,” Bessent replied.

Maxine Waters is so cooked she doesn’t even remember she met the Treasury Secretary.

Maxine Waters: This is the first time we’ve met, is that correct?

Scott Bessent: Actually we met one New Year’s Eve in the Bahamas. You weren’t much better at the electric slide than I was. pic.twitter.com/r6nf8IuqIm

— Steven Crowder (@scrowder) May 7, 2025

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