Treasury Secretary Awkwardly Responds to Report That He Privately Confronted Trump Over Justice Department Investigation into Federal Reserve Chairman

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent distanced himself from a report alleging that he privately confronted President Donald Trump about the Justice Department’s investigation into Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.

In it Axios Reportthe outlet reported that a “disturbed” Bessent berated Trump behind closed doors over the investigation focusing on Powell allegedly going over budget with the Federal Reserve building renovation project, and Bessent allegedly told the president that the investigation “was a disaster.”

“Axios reported that you were not happy with the Justice Department investigation, that you said that to President Trump,” NBC’s Welker asked Bessent during an interview Sunday on “Meet the Press.” “Is that accurate?”

Initially, Bessent refused to answer the question, responding, “You know what, Kristen? I’m not going to talk about my conversations with the president.”

Then, strangely, he backtracked and added, “But if I said that, I was wrong.”

Without directly answering the question, the secretary launched into a quasi-explanation.

“Financial markets and the stock market went up, bond yields went down,” Bessent said. “So the markets are the final arbiter of whether the Fed’s independence is being challenged. And bond yields are down.”

He added: “I can tell you that we had two of the best bond auctions we’ve had in months for U.S. Treasuries. So the market is looking beyond this. And again, maybe the market wants some transparency from the Fed.”

Bessent’s evasive response came after Welker pressed him on whether Trump is “committed to the independence of the Federal Reserve.”

He ignored their concerns and responded: “Of course, you are committed to the independence of the Federal Reserve. But independence does not mean absence of oversight.”

Welker did not give up and asked him directly: “But doesn’t this undermine the independence of the Federal Reserve if the Justice Department is investigating renewals?”

fake images

“There are renovations in the White House,” he added.

Bessent rejected the comparison to renovations at the White House, telling Welker that they are funded by private donors and are hundreds of millions of dollars under budget.

“The renovations at the White House are not $700 million, more than $1 billion or $1.5 billion over budget, Kristen. And the White House, that’s being paid for with private funds. If I want to buy a new chair for my office at the Treasury, that’s an appropriation,” Bessent responded.

He continued: “Just to understand, the Federal Reserve has magic money. They print their own money. So when you have no oversight, why not have a little sunshine?”

Bessent then claimed that he had “called on the Federal Reserve since last summer to do its own internal investigation,” adding: “And that has not been heard.”

Concluding his response, Bessent told Welker: “I don’t know about you, [but] If I received questions from the Department of Justice, I would respond to them. “They didn’t get a response.”

Watch a clip of Bessent’s interview on “Meet the Press” below.

“,”guy”:”video”,”goal”:{“author”:”NBC News”,”author_url”:”https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeY0bbntWzzVIaj2z3QigXg”,”cache_age”:86400,”description”:”Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent tells Meet the Press that President Trump is committed to the independence of the Federal Reserve as the Justice Department launches an investigation into Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.nnFor more context and news coverage of the biggest stories of our day, click here: https://www.nbcnews.comnn» Subscribe to NBC News: http://nbcnews.to/SubscribeToNBCn» Subscribe to Here’s the Scoop Podcast: https://www.nbcnews.com/heres-the-scoop-daily-podcastnnEvery day, NBC News helps people understand what’s happening and why it matters through fact-based reporting, meaningful conversations and impactful stories. From its flagship news broadcasts (TODAY, NBC Nightly News, Meet the Press and Dateline) to NBC News NOW, the 24/7 streaming news channel, plus top-rated podcasts, the NBC News app and NBCNews.com, NBC News keeps audiences informed and connected to the stories that shape our world.nnConnect with NBC News Online!nNBC News App: https://apps.nbcnews.com/mobilenBreaking News Alerts: https://link.nbcnews.com/join/5cj/breaking-news-signup?cid=sm_npd_nn_yt_bn-clip_190621nVisit NBCNews.Com: http://nbcnews.to/ReadNBCnFind NBC News on Facebook: http://nbcnews.to/LikeNBCnFollow NBC News on Twitter: http://nbcnews.to/FollowNBCnFollow NBC News on Instagram: http://nbcnews.to/InstaNBCnn#doj #jeromepowell #donaldtrump”,”options”:{“_cc_load_policy”:{“label”:”Closed Captions”,”worth”:FAKE},”_end”:{“label”:”Result in”,”placeholder”:”ex.: 11, 1m10s”,”worth”:””},”_begin”:{“label”:”Start from”,”placeholder”:”ex.: 11, 1m10s”,”worth”:””}},”supplier_name”:”YouTube”,”thumbnail_height”:720,”thumbnail_url”:”https://i.ytimg.com/vi/KErrrV9YTWY/maxresdefault.jpg”,”thumbnail_width”:1280,”qualification”:”Scott Bessent defends the Justice Department’s investigation into Jerome Powell: “Independence does not mean absence of oversight””,”guy”:”video”,”URL”:”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KErrrV9YTWY”,”version”:”1.0″},”flags”:[],”improvements”:{},”complete bleeding”:FAKE,”options”:{“issue”:”news”,”device”:”office”,”editionInfo”:{“ID”:”us”,”name”:”US”,”link”:”https://www.News themezone.com”,”place”:”y_US”},”Original edition”:”us”,”esMapi”:FAKE,”esAmp”:FAKE,”it’s mobile”:FAKE,”esAdsFree”:FAKE,”enVideoEntry”:FAKE,”enEntry”:TRUE,”also mount”:FAKE,”Entry ID”:”696e642ae4b03601d1a5f49a”,”entryPermanent link”:”https://www.News themezone.com/entry/scott-bessent-refuses-answer-axios-report-confronted-trump-doj-probe-jerome-powell_n_696e642ae4b03601d1a5f49a”,”entryTagsList”:”donald-trump,scott-bessent,@us_News themezone_now”,”sectionSlug”:”policy”,”departmentSlug”:”news-politics”,”sectionRedirectUrl”:null,”subcategories”:””,”it is wide”:FAKE,”enShopping”:FAKE,”Override header”:null,”no video ads”:FAKE,”disable float”:FAKE,”is native”:FAKE,”commercialVideo”:{“supplier”:”habit”,”site_and_category”:”we.politics”,”package”:null},”enHighline”:FAKE,”vidibleConfigValues”:{“cid”:”60afc111dcf87c2cd2f5d8bf”,”cancels”:{“front_page_top_videos”:{“office”:”60b64354b171b7444beaff4d”,”mobile web”:”60b64354b171b7444beaff4d”},”top_media”:{“office”:”60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147″,”mobile”:”60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee”,”iPhone”:”60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6″,”iPad”:”60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6″,”android phone”:”60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c”,”android tablet”:”60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c”},”anthology”:{“office”:”60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba”,”mobile”:”60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66″,”iPhone”:”60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6″,”iPad”:”60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6″,”android phone”:”60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c”,”android tablet”:”60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c”},”content”:{“office”:”60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba”,”mobile”:”60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66″,”iPhone”:”60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6″,”iPad”:”60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6″,”android phone”:”60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c”,”android tablet”:”60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c”}},”playerUpdates”:{“5668ae6ee4b0b5e26955d6a6″:”60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443″,”56aa41bae4b091744c0440d8″:”60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81″,”5841b2b5cc52c716ec6e5a7f”:”60b8e355cdd90620331ba185″,”58b5e2b8d85a10302feee895″:”60b64316b171b7444beafdb2″,”58b74698f78ced31417819ae”:”60b8e5bec5449357a7ad9b52″,”58b74ccecebcea57e2c3a3d1″:”60b8e5eac5449357a7ad9ca5″,”58cff690d85a100b9992bc39″:”60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba”,”58cffb3fb6d9b972a49a3c9d”:”60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6″,”58cffdd74d96935d7d6ec180″:”60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66″,”58d03a84f78ced6518eb2fa7″:”60b643c82e76be41f112735c”,”592edf20e0fa177b0c26f7fd”:”60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c”,”5b35266b158f855373e28256″:”60b64354b171b7444beaff4d”,”5c116f29f79c4171d82b7c2a”:”60b64440b171b7444beb040b”,”5c1170fc600c9a697bf0c6b9″:”60b646102e76be41f1 127ffc”,”5c47791afa1b317df8ae0c4f”:”60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147″,”5c477987a6b48b35f164773d”:”60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee”,”5c4779ee943c3c2a64f28371″:”60b8e747cdd90620331bb861″,”5c477a26fcd67b26879bc7c2″:”60b8e788c5449357a7ada67b”,”5d8921a78c3ae845f366c9b6″:”60ae7be5f3a7c13a30417ff9″,”58b98b00ba82aa39a6534321″:”60d0de7c9340d7032ad1146c”,”58b9d14cb6d9b96c9ec32af3″:”60d0dic19340d7032ad115a0″,”58cff8eccebcea42931e0436″:”60d0e005b627221e9d819d44″,”592edf5de0fa177b0c26f95b”:”60d0e38fb627221e9d81adcf”,”58cff72fd85a100b9992c112″:”60d0e447b627221e9d81b0da”,”56b4d34fe4b022697697c400″:”60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443″,”60b8e4c0c5449357a7ad957d”:”60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81″}},”connatixConfigValues”:{“default player”:”ff7fdddc-5441-4253-abc4-f12a33fad58b”,”click to play player”:”d014396e-b366-4c17-aeac-3ce906fa3fd0″,”video page player”:”f010447b-d244-4111-a314-7b4542ae4145″,”vertical player”:”e58cb05a-0bc8-4210-9108-fea82726c065″,”StickyPlayerControl”:”52ea1755-d601-4ad1-bccc-d8cce3f0e5da”,”sticky player”:”8055e9e5-3bda-4933-8d45-9ad814fb6e22″,”noAdsPlayer”:”deeeda04-49cb-4a1d-ac6c-c388a685b58e”,”life page player”:”e1d799d2-2d81-4f27-bfa0-e6833a657659″,”adLightDesktopPlayer”:”014f5956-89c0-4fda-9201-b1c2b8232be5″,”adLightMobilePlayer”:”b74a8200-8881-451a-b3ae-e3479c486eac”},”topConnatixThumnbailSrc”:”https://img.connatix.com/7063e82b-aa0c-41da-a5d1-9e4771dd844d/1_th.jpg?crop=629:354,smart&width=629&height=354&format=jpeg&quality=60&fit=crop”,”custom amplifier components”:[],”ampAssetsUrl”:”https://amp.assets.News themezone.com”,”videoTraits”:null,”position in units units”:{“buzz_head”:{“count”:0},”body_buzz”:{“count”:0},”buzz_bottom”:{“count”:0}},”position in subunits”:{“article_body”:{“count”:3},”summary_blog”:{“count”:0},”before_going_happy”:{“count”:0}},”connatixCountsHelper”:{“count”:1},”buzzfeedTracking”:{“context_page_id”:”696e642ae4b03601d1a5f49a”,”context_page_type”:”buzz”,”destination”:”post”,”mode”:”office”,”page_edit”:”es-us”},”labels”:[{[{“name”:”donald trump”,”slug”:”donald-trump”,”golf course”:{“relative link”:”topic/donald-trump”,”permanent link”:”https://www.News themezone.com/topic/donald-trump”,”mobileWebLink”:”https://www.News themezone.com/topic/donald-trump”},”department”:{“name”:”Latest news”,”slug”:”news-politics”},”section”:{“qualification”:”Policy”,”slug”:”policy”},”issue”:{“qualification”:”donald trump”,”slug”:”donald-trump”,”overrides section tag”:FAKE},”URL”:”https://www.News themezone.com/news/topic/donald-trump”},{“name”:”scott bessent”,”slug”:”scott-bessent”,”golf course”:{“relative link”:”theme/scott-bessent”,”permanent link”:”https://www.News themezone.com/topic/scott-bessent”,”mobileWebLink”:”https://www.News themezone.com/topic/scott-bessent”},”URL”:”https://www.News themezone.com/topic/scott-bessent”}],”enLiveblogLive”:null,”enLiveblog”:FAKE,”backfillRelated articles”:[{[{“edition ID”:”us”,”holder”:”Powell asks Fed inspector general to investigate renewal project amid Trump’s relentless attacks”,”Default image”:{“guy”:”Hector”,”URL”:”https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/687652de280000040ac6d4c4.jpeg”,”queryParams”:{“cache”:”zlalluInqA”},”broad”:2312,”height”:1541,”credit”:”via News”,”operations”:””},”URL”:”https://www.News themezone.com/entry/jerome-powell-requests-fed-ig-probe-on-renovation_n_68764d22e4b025efd81d7547″,”ten”:”Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that the president is “without looking at the fire” Powell, but noted that the search for his replacement is already underway.”},{“edition ID”:”us”,”holder”:”Trump goes crazy over WSJ report detailing advice he received from Scott Bessent”,”Default image”:{“guy”:”Hector”,”URL”:”https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/687e162f160000a27842d5d4.jpeg”,”queryParams”:{“cache”:”INsaVldtHU”},”broad”:5688,”height”:3778,”credit”:”via News”,”operations”:””},”URL”:”https://www.News themezone.com/entry/trump-wall-street-journal-report-scott-bessent_n_687e0536e4b0502d85e56d2e”,”ten”:””People don’t explain to me, I explain to them!” the president wrote on his Truth Social platform.”},{“edition ID”:”us”,”holder”:”Trump makes vaguely threatening joke about firing his Treasury secretary”,”Default image”:{“guy”:”Hector”,”URL”:”https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/691e665217000026639c636d.jpeg”,”queryParams”:{},”broad”:6000,”height”:4000,”credit”:”via News”,”operations”:”500_281″},”URL”:”https://www.News themezone.com/entry/trump-scott-bessent-interest-rates_n_691e4eede4b0b763ab8da326″,”ten”:”Trump added that he also”I love shooting” Jerome Powell, intensifying his attacks on the chairman of the Federal Reserve.”},{“edition ID”:”us”,”holder”:”Treasury Secretary denies possibility of incoming recession: ‘I am very confident in 2026′”,”Default image”:{“guy”:”Hector”,”URL”:”https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/69237b1a1700006abea910e0.jpeg”,”queryParams”:{“cache”:”SVMVZbXaka”},”broad”:7635,”height”:5090,”credit”:”SAÚL LOEB via Getty Images”,”operations”:””},”URL”:”https://www.News themezone.com/entry/treasury-secretary-denies-possibility-of-incoming-recession_n_69236472e4b0ba57449cf213″,”ten”:”””We have laid the foundations for a very strong and non-inflationary growth economy,”” Scott Bessent said on NBC News’ “Meet the Press.””},{“edition ID”:”us”,”holder”:”Jeanine Pirro Furiously Backtracks After Jerome Powell Investigation Receives GOP Backlash”,”Default image”:{“guy”:”Hector”,”URL”:”https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/6966bc6d170000c036aacab7.jpeg”,”queryParams”:{“cache”:”JtJGomNPeG”},”broad”:4000,”height”:2667,”credit”:”Bloomberg via Getty Images”,”operations”:””},”URL”:”https://www.News themezone.com/entry/jeanine-pirro-furious-backpedals-after-jerome-powell-probe-gets-gop-backlash_n_696681b6e4b0d5c7db782ad4″,”ten”:””None of this would have happened if they had simply responded to our outreach,” Pirro wrote in X.”}],”Login URL”:”https://login.News themezone.com/login?dest=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.News themezone.com%2Fentry%2Fscott-bessent-refuses-an report-swer-axios-faced-trump-doj-probe-jerome-powell_n_696e642ae4b03601d1a5f49a%3Fhp_auth_done%3D1″,”cet unit”:”body_buzz”,”enableIncontentPlayer”:FAKE,”bodyAds”:[[“

rnrn”,”

rnrn”,”

rnrn”],”ad count”:0,”midArticleAdPartner”:null},”enCollectionEmbed”:false}”>