Bessent disses ‘leakers' after WSJ report on Powell advice
Bessent was asked on CNBC on Monday if the Journal story was real and if he had a conversation with Trump urging him to not fire Powell.
'I think the problem with stories like this is — I'm not sure who the leaker was — but the problem with leakers is they only have partial information. And I think the other problem, too, is that newspapers like The Wall Street Journal are not used to a high-functioning executive president,' Bessent said.
He continued, 'They are used to, you know, perhaps President Biden, perhaps President Obama, who was not as economically sophisticated as President Trump. President Trump solicits a whole range of opinions and then makes a decision. So, he takes a lot of inputs, and at the end of the day, it's his decision, just as it was his decision on Iran. And look at the tremendous success there. Look at the tremendous success at the border. And that is what a great executive looks like.'
Trump on Friday sued the Journal for alleged defamation after the newspaper published a story describing a letter he reportedly sent to the late Jeffrey Epstein for his 50th birthday.
The president has aggressively targeted Powell over his handling of interest rates and last week told GOP lawmakers he would likely fire the chair soon before walking back his comments.
Bessent was pressed on CNBC on whether he would dissuade the president from firing Powell and he replied that he wants to 'examine the entire Federal Reserve Institution and whether they have been successful.'
'I'm going to be in the building this evening. There is a regulatory conference that begins tomorrow. I'm the keynote speaker tonight talking about regulation. The Fed, as well, deals with monetary policy, regulations, financial stability. And again, I think that we should think, has the organization succeeded in its mission? You know, if this were the FAA and we were having this many mistakes, we would go back and look at, why has this happened?' Bessent said.
Trump on Sunday, following the Journal report, said 'nobody had to explain' to him that moving to fire Powell would be bad for the markets.
'If it weren't for me, the Market wouldn't be at Record Highs right now, it probably would have CRASHED! So, get your information CORRECT. People don't explain to me, I explain to them!' the president said on Truth Social.
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