Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is going through heavy backlash from Democrats over a Wednesday comment during which he talked about “a backdoor for privatizing Social Security.”
“In a way, it is a backdoor for privatizing Social Security,” Bessent mentioned Wednesday throughout an occasion with Breitbart Information, discussing “Trump accounts.”
The Trump administration has proposed financial savings accounts for youths born between 2024 and 2028 during which the federal government will put $1,000. It was part of President Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” that he signed into legislation earlier this month.
Social Safety has lengthy been a 3rd rail in politics, and Democrats have been fast to accuse Bessent of suggesting he and the administration noticed the accounts as a future substitute for Social Safety.
Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) mentioned Wednesday in a put up on social platform X that Bessent was “saying the quiet part out loud.”
“‘In a way, it is a backdoor for privatizing Social Security.’ – Scott Bessent,” Luján mentioned in his put up, which featured a clip of Bessent’s feedback. “That means gutting the promise our seniors earned and dismantling Social Security as we know it.”
In his personal put up Wednesday on X, Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) provided an opinion much like Luján’s.
“Trump Treasury Sec. Scott Bessent said the quiet part out loud: Trump-Republicans want to privatize Social Security, turning it from a dependable safety net to a risky profit center for moneyed special interests at the expense of everyday Americans,” Reed mentioned in his put up.
Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.) mentioned on X that “Republicans’ ultimate goal is to privatize Social Security.”
“And we know that there isn’t a backdoor they won’t try to make Wall Street’s dream a reality,” he added.
Afterward Wednesday, Bessent sought to wash up his remarks by arguing the brand new accounts would bolster Social Safety.
He mentioned in a put up on X that “Trump Baby Accounts are an additive benefit for future generations, which will supplement the sanctity of Social Security’s guaranteed payments.”
“This is not an either-or question: our Administration is committed to protecting Social Security and to making sure seniors have more money,” he added.
In an look on CNBC’s “Squawk Field” Thursday, Bessent mentioned, “I was giving an interview, and I was talking about the $1,000 baby bonds that every American citizen, every newborn, is going to get.”
“The Democrats hate this program because the — it brings capitalism and markets to every American, not just their constituents at the upper end, and over time, the compounding is going to be an incredible supplement to Social Security, not a replacement. It is a complement,” he added.
