Don Beyer Asks Treasury Secretary Bessent: 'Should Americans Be Prepared For Liberation Day 2.0?'

7 months ago

During a House Ways and Means Committee hearing on Wednesday, Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) asked Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent about a possible 'Liberation Day 2.0.'

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00:00I believe I may have been in London when that was published, so I look forward to perusing the names of the economists on that list.

00:09Thank you, Mr. Secretary.

00:11Mr. Beyer.

00:12Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

00:13Mr. Secretary, the role of the Secretary of the Treasury is one of the most important and consequential in the entire federal government.

00:20You're responsible for our nation's economic prosperity, ensuring the stability of our financial systems,

00:26and you're a successful guy with an Ivy League education.

00:30Well, I would assume that you would understand that to execute on these objectives,

00:34you must apply foundational, wildly acceptable principles to support economic growth.

00:40For example, a climate of economic stability and predictability,

00:43ensuring the economy has a strong and stable workforce, supporting science and innovation, and much more.

00:49Yet at every turn, your policies fly in the face of these basic principles.

00:53The erratic tariffs have thrown the markets and consumer confidence into freefall,

00:57while driving up costs for businesses and consumers alike.

01:00The misguided and cruel immigration policies of this administration are forcing highly skilled talent

01:05to seek opportunities outside of the U.S.

01:08and lift businesses across the country without workers they need and our communities depend upon.

01:13And the indiscriminate sashing of our libraries, medical research centers, NIH, the National Science Foundation,

01:19have forced our scientific progress backwards.

01:21At the same time, your public comments about the state of the economy suggest you don't even understand

01:26the severity of the damage that you're causing.

01:28For example, for months, despite every indication of the contrary,

01:32you've suggested that the U.S. dollar is not weakening,

01:35but instead that currencies of other countries are growing stronger.

01:38This might be more credible if the dollar hadn't weakened against gold most of all.

01:42That's akin to suggesting our sea levels aren't rising, that the land is shrinking.

01:46Demand for treasuries is weakening, and the markets aren't buying what you're selling.

01:50The only time the markets have reacted positively is when the administration is in retreat from key policy areas.

01:56I want to say, given your successful past, isn't this embarrassing?

02:01Is there a question there, sir?

02:02There's a question.

02:03Isn't this embarrassing?

02:04Oh, is it embarrassing?

02:06Well, I'm sorry, Congressman, but you seem not to have seen the economic data.

02:11The GDP growth has been quite substantial.

02:17Job growth is solid.

02:18GDP growth is half what it was last year, sir.

02:20The job growth is solid.

02:23Job growth is a third what it was all last year, sir.

02:26No, no, no.

02:27And private sector job growth especially.

02:30And if you'd like to talk about inflation, would you?

02:33The inflation has been coming down.

02:36Yes, the inflation is good so far.

02:38We will see every economic thing I read, which is much every day, suggests the impact of the tariffs is not in Tidja.

02:43Well, why don't we look at the data rather than the hysteria, which is how I made my career.

02:50Let me move on.

02:51You like to use the phrase strategic uncertainty as a justification for the tariff mess,

02:56pretending that the erratic policies have been the result of a clever, thoughtful plan, which is impossible to believe.

03:01There's a common assertion with these tariffs that I'm struggling to understand.

03:05The committee just passed a reconciliation bill that's going to explode the deficit by almost $3 trillion.

03:10The president tells us that's just fine because, according to the CBO, if all of his tariffs policies remain in place,

03:15we're going to see $2.8 trillion in new taxes from the tariffs.

03:19You used that number earlier today over the next 10 years.

03:22But here's my question.

03:24If you're supposedly cutting all these deals, 90 deals in 90 days,

03:28and the president's going to retain the power to adjust tariffs on a whim,

03:32how can we reasonably expect that those $2.8 trillion in new tariff revenues are going to be real?

03:38Isn't this just one more example of how the lack of a plan is going to lead to an explosion in the nation's debt?

03:43How do you have your cake and eat it, too?

03:45You claim the tariff revenue is going to offset the increase in debt,

03:49and yet you also say you're going to get rid of that tariff revenue by negotiating 90 new deals.

03:54Well, Congressman, two things.

03:55It sounds like you're questioning the CBO because that's a CBO score, not my number.

03:59You used it today.

04:01Yeah, but it's the CBO score.

04:03So if you want to use CBO, let's use CBO.

04:07They're claiming $2.4 trillion in new debt, and they're also saying $2.8 in tariff income.

04:15Even in Washington math, that's plus $400 billion.

04:18That does miss the $500 billion in new interest on the debt, which makes it up to $3 trillion.

04:25You don't agree with the CBO either?

04:28In my 45 seconds, your counterpart, Secretary Lutnik, recently declared on television

04:33that Trump's president's tariffs are not going away, quote-unquote,

04:37even with your deal on China that you announced.

04:40Secretary Lutnik was asked by Senator Kennedy if he'd accept a deal that removed trade barriers

04:45for places like Vietnam, and he gave an answer that was, frankly, all over the place

04:50and difficult to understand.

04:51We're less than a month away from Liberation Day Part 2.

04:56Very few of the trade deals have been announced yet.

04:59I think most people in Congress and around the world would like to know what's going on.

05:03Should America be preparing for Liberation Day 2.0?

05:07Should we plan – what do we plan for January, July 9th, and July 2nd?

05:11I would say, as I have repeatedly said, that there are 18 important trading partners.

05:18We are working toward deals on those, and it is highly likely that those countries

05:26that are negotiating or trading blocks, as in the case of the EU,

05:29who are negotiating in good faith, we will roll the date forward

05:33to continue the good-faith negotiations.

05:36If someone is not negotiating, then we will not.

05:41Mr. Chairman, I yield back.

05:43Thank you. Mr. Stubbe.

Don Beyer Asks Treasury Secretary Bessent: 'Should Americans Be Prepared For Liberation Day 2.0?'

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