Scott Bescent humorously referenced a historical duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr when discussing a recent conflict with Bill Pulte. During a CNBC interview on Tuesday, he slyly nodded to his predecessor Hamilton when asked if he had clashed with Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency.
“Treasury secretaries have a long history of dueling dating back to Hamilton,” Bescent remarked. Hamilton, who launched the New York Post in 1801, died in 1804 following a duel with Burr, who was then the United States’ third vice president.
Recently, Bescent, age 63, was reported to have threatened Pulte, 37, accusing him of unfairly involving President Trump in their issues. His reaction involved a rather intense declaration, “Why are you talking to the president about that? I’m going to punch your face,” as the Post noted.
The heated altercation, first highlighted by Politico, occurred at the Executive Department’s Social Club, a private members’ venue located in Georgetown, co-founded by banker Omaid Malik and Donald Trump Jr. Each founding member contributed $500,000 earlier this year.
A Trump insider shared that there was a prevailing belief within the White House that many would have gladly paid to witness a physical encounter between Bescent and Pulte. “Scott actually would have won,” they claimed.
Interestingly, the insider also suggested that Trump had a different idea for Pulte’s future, implying he should be removed from FHFA and turned into a “mortgage fraud czar.” This move seemed to stem from differing views on the direction of federal mortgage giants like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Earlier in the year, Bescent reportedly encouraged Trump not to dismiss Jerome Powell, the Federal Reserve Chairman, whose term extends until May 2026.
This wasn’t the first instance of tension involving Bescent. In April, he allegedly had a confrontation with Elon Musk, who supposedly challenged him outside the Oval Office. According to reports, this clash occurred while both were involved with the IRS on behalf of different candidates. Musk was backing IRS whistleblower Gary Shapley, while Bescent supported his aide, Michael Folkender.
Bannon recounted that during their dispute, Musk referred to Bescent as a “fraud” and urged him to engage in a physical scuffle. The situation escalated, necessitating intervention from several individuals to separate the two, resulting in Musk being escorted from the West Wing, as reported.
Once the dust settled, President Trump was said to have expressed concern, stating, “This is too much.” Bescent later described reports labeling him as a “scam” as “fake news,” but did not clarify the details surrounding the physical altercation.
