During a House Financial Services Committee hearing on Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent systematically dismantled Rep. Maxine Waters’ (D-Calif.) arguments about tariffs and inflation, causing her to have a complete meltdown while attempting to silence him and ultimately telling him to “shut up” as the exchange spiraled out of control.
The confrontation began when Waters thought she could trap Bessent on tariffs. She claimed he had written to investors in 2004 that “tariffs are inflationary,” and asked for a simple yes-or-no answer. When Bessent told Waters she was wrong, she tried to pivot to a New York Times article, which prompted Bessent to mock her source selection.
Waters then accused Bessent of contradicting himself, citing his summer Senate testimony where he said that “there is no inflation. Tariffs are not being passed on to consumers.” She demanded another yes-or-no answer on whether tariffs are inflationary.
“According to the San Francisco Federal Reserve, with a hundred and fifty years of data, tariffs do not cause inflation,” he responded, attempting to provide substantive evidence. Waters interrupted with “yes or no?” but Bessent was firm. “Tariffs do not cause inflation.”
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As Waters continued her monologue about housing costs and tariffs on lumber and steel, Bessent interjected with a crucial fact: “Lumber is at a five-year low, Congresswoman.” Waters didn’t want to hear that and demanded to reclaim her time to silence him.
“Then let’s just have the facts, ma’am,” Bessent shot back, refusing to be quieted.
The confrontation reached its boiling point when Waters demanded Bessent commit to being “the voice of reason” and asked him to urge President Donald Trump to stop what she characterized as “waging a war on American consumers.”
When Bessent attempted to answer with substance rather than a soundbite, Waters erupted with a barrage of interruptions.
“You seem to be confused as to the definition of inflation,” Bessent interjected, but Waters kept cutting him off.
Bessent, clearly fed up with Waters’ refusal to allow him to answer, powered through her interruptions to deliver a devastating rebuttal: “The biggest reason for the housing crisis was mass unfettered immigration,” an obvious reference to the Biden administration’s open borders policies.
At this point, Waters completely lost her composure. “Can you shut up?” she demanded as Bessent continued speaking about how immigrants “took the housing stock of working Americans.”
Bessent refused to back down, adding pointedly: “Can you maintain some level of dignity?”
Bam! That was beautiful. But I don’t think Waters would know dignity if it smacked her upside the head.
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Waters continued her undignified theatrics after the chairman said her time was up. “No, my time has not expired,” she claimed. “The gentleman took up my time,” she complained, clearly furious that Bessent had managed to get his points across despite her attempts to silence him.
Maxine Waters has been an embarrassment to herself, the Democrat Party, and the House of Representatives for years now and she seems to lack any self-awareness of how ridiculous she looks.
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