Treasury Secretary Bessent and Rep. Waters Clash Over Access and DOGE

Heated Exchange on Personal Contact

• 🗣️ Representative Maxine Waters expressed dissatisfaction with the lack of personal contact with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, stating this was their first meeting.
• 🤝 Bessent countered that they had met previously on New Year's Eve in the Bahamas, humorously noting Waters's better skill at the electric slide.

Allegations of Unfettered Access

• ⚠️ Waters accused Bessent of allowing "DOGE personnel" unfettered access to sensitive government systems, including those handling trillions of dollars in payments and tax records.
• 🚫 Bessent firmly stated, "there is no such thing as a DOGE employee," asserting that individuals Waters referred to were Treasury employees.
• ❓ Waters questioned whether these individuals received the required clearances and security training before accessing Treasury computer databases.

Disagreement on Employee Status

• 🧐 Bessent maintained that the individuals were Treasury employees and had "read only access" at Treasury.
• 😤 Waters disagreed, citing information she possessed that suggested individuals working for Elon Musk were granted access to Treasury systems and personal information.
• 📉 Bessent denied any knowledge of information being downloaded by anyone working with DOGE from Treasury computers.

Broader Economic and Constitutional Questions

• 🏛️ Representative Gregory Meeks inquired if Bessent believed in the US Constitution, to which Bessent affirmed.
• 🎤 Meeks also asked Bessent who the president was in 2024, with Bessent responding, "one believes President Biden."