Scott Bessent, President Donald Trump’s pick for Treasury secretary, won bipartisan support Tuesday as his nomination cleared a Senate committee.
The Senate Finance Committee voted 16-11 to advance Bessent’s nomination, clearing the way for a Senate floor vote in the coming days.
Two Democrats — Sens. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) — joined with the committee’s Republicans in supporting Bessent for the top economic job in Trump’s Cabinet.
If Bessent is confirmed, as expected, he’ll be at the center of Trump’s agenda of extending tax cuts, imposing sweeping tariffs and rolling back financial regulations. He will also inherit looming fiscal cliffs in the coming months as the Trump administration needs to get Congress to fund the government and raise the debt limit to avoid a catastrophic default on the nation’s financial obligations.
Sen. Ron Wyden, the top Democrat on the committee, objected to advancing Bessent’s nomination, as did most of his colleagues. He said he was concerned the wealthy investor was “not square on his taxes,” reiterating Democrats’ allegations he improperly avoided paying Medicare taxes.
Democrats have targeted Bessent’s use of a disputed interpretation of how Medicare taxes apply to the income he earned through his hedge fund, the Key Square Group. The IRS has taken a different position from Bessent in litigation by other taxpayers over issue.
Bessent “has opted out of paying his fair share of his Medicare taxes,” Wyden said. “The IRS has gone to court twice to ban this particular scheme that Mr. Bessent is using.”
“You cannot have a Treasury secretary who doesn’t abide by Treasury policy,” Wyden added, echoing concern from other Democrats that Bessent would have a conflict of interest in overseeing the IRS’ handling of the issue.
At his hearing last week, Bessent defended his tax filings and said he would set aside money to pay additional taxes if higher courts end up ruling that his interpretation was wrong. Bessent has also agreed to shutter his hedge fund.
Sen. Mike Crapo, the Republican chair of the committee, pushed back against Democrats attacks on Bessent’s tax filings again on Monday, calling the allegations “simply false.”
“He has done nothing wrong except follow traditional tax law,” Crapo said. He added that Bessent “fully complied with traditional tax law and is prepared, if the IRS position prevails in court and the rules change, to pay the tax that is due.”
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