Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent Challenges ABC Host Over Shutdown Claims
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent engaged in a heated discussion with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos on Sunday regarding previous statements that blamed Republicans for the government shutdown.
During this period, the Senate saw 14 government reopening bills supported by Republicans over 38 days. Only three Senate Democrats voted with the 52 Republicans who backed a clean continuation resolution, falling short of the 60 votes required to end the shutdown. In the segment “This Week with George Stephanopoulos,” the host questioned whether the Trump administration’s approach to resolve the shutdown involves ending the Congressional filibuster. Bessent dismissed that notion and shifted the focus of the discussion.
“No, George. That’s not the best way to go. Look, you were involved in a lot of those situations in the ’90s. You referred to the Republican Party in quite drastic terms, suggesting that it was not the government’s fault for the shutdown,” Bessent asserted.
He continued to express that Democrats now find themselves adopting stances they once criticized.
“What we really need is for five courageous, moderate Democratic senators to cross the aisle. Right now, the vote tally is 52-3. Just five Democrats could help us restart the government. That’s the ideal solution,” Bessent added.
Stephanopoulos, however, countered, “I don’t share your perspective on that history, but we’re not here to discuss history lessons.”
“No, no, George, George,” Bessent insisted, attempting to halt the interruptions. “If you want, I can pull up all your quotes. Here they are, George.”
During the federal government shutdown of 1995-1996, Stephanopoulos was a senior advisor in President Bill Clinton’s administration, where he played a significant role in shaping messages that painted Congressional Republicans as extremists. The communication strategy employed at that time enabled Clinton to redirect public responsibility onto the Republican Party.
Stephanopoulos noted, “Our approach was straightforward. We couldn’t back down; we had to portray them as holding the country hostage to achieve their goals. They were threatening a government shutdown to secure tax cuts, potentially leading to the country defaulting for the first time and slashing essential services just to get their way. We were conveying that they were essentially terrorists, and it was effective,” as he recounted in an interview for PBS’s “Frontline.”
In a prior exchange, Stephanopoulos accused Vice President J.D. Vance of evading a question on border czar Tom Homan, ultimately cutting the interview short on October 12 when Vance resisted.
