Extending the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is a top economic priority, and failing to keep tax cuts in place will wreak havoc on the middle class, according to President-elect Trump’s pick to lead the Treasury Department, Scott Bessent.
“This is the single most important economic issue of the day,” Bessent, a hedge fund billionaire from South Carolina, told the Senate Finance Committee Thursday during his confirmation hearing.
“If we do not renew an extension, then we will be facing an economic calamity,” Bessent said. “And, as always, with financial instability, that falls on the middle and working class.”
Bessent cautioned that a “gigantic” middle-class tax increase would occur if the tax cuts expire.
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Trump approved the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act during his first term, but many of the reforms included are slated to end in 2025. Groups like Americans for Prosperity, a grassroots network founded by the billionaire Koch Brothers, claim that millions of Americans will face a hike of more than $1,500 in their taxes next year if the cuts are not renewed.
AFP announced this week it’s spending $20 million to launch a wide-ranging campaign to urge the extension of Trump’s tax cuts.
But critics of Trump’s tax plan, including Democratic lawmakers like Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and groups like the Center for American Progress, argue the cuts only benefited the wealthy and claim the perks failed to reach ordinary workers.
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However, Bessent said Trump and his administration will create a “golden age” of economic prosperity for all Americans.
“Today, I believe that President Trump has a generational opportunity to unleash a new economic golden age that will create more jobs, wealth and prosperity for all Americans,” Bessent said in opening remarks.
“We must secure supply chains that are vulnerable to strategic competitors, and we must carefully deploy sanctions as part of a whole-of-government approach to address our national security requirements,” Bessent added. “And critically — critically — we must ensure that the U.S. dollar remains the world’s reserve currency.”
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Trump’s economic plan includes extending the 2017 tax cuts and imposing tariffs ranging from 10% to 20% on all imported goods. For countries like China, that number could go up to 60%.
Bessent, who previously authored an op-ed for Fox News Digital backing the employment of tariffs, voiced support for the Trump administration’s use of tariffs as a lever in multiple exchanges with lawmakers. For example, Bessent disagreed with Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., who asserted the American people would be “clobbered” by tariffs on all imported goods.
Bessent fielded questions from lawmakers on a host of topics and confirmed he would not back an increase in the federal minimum wage, which has remained at $7.25 since 2009.
Bessent said he believed the issue is “more of a state and regional issue” after Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., asked if lawmakers could count on the hedge fund billionaire to support efforts to lift the federal minimum wage ceiling.
“Senator, I believe that the minimum wage is more of a state and regional issue,” Bessent said.
“You don’t think we should change the federal minimum wage?” Sanders asked. “We have $7.25 an hour.”
“No sir,” Bessent replied.
Additionally, Bessent said he would crack down on Russia and impose harsher sanctions to end the war in Ukraine.
“If any officials in the Russian Federation are watching this confirmation hearing, they should know that if I’m confirmed, and if President Trump requests as part of his strategy in the Ukraine war, that I will 100% [be] on board for taking sanctions up,” Bessent said.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., introduced Bessent to lawmakers Thursday, urging them to back his nomination based on his qualifications, even if they disagreed with him on some policy matters.
“This man has been successful with everything he’s ever tried to do,” Graham said. “He’s worked really hard. And why did President Trump pick him? He believes that President Trump’s economic agenda is a good fit for this country, and he wants to help President Trump be successful.”
The Treasury Department is responsible for managing federal finances and oversees agencies that include the IRS.
Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
