Bessent tries to walk back comments suggesting Social Security could be privatized

Bessent tries to walk back comments suggesting Social Security could be privatized

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is trying to walk back his suggestion that the so-called Trump savings accounts for newborns could be a "back door" to start privatizing Social Security. Bessent made the comments in an interview with Breitbart while he was speaking at length about the importance of financial literacy. "But in a way, it is a back door for privatizing Social Security," Bessent said. In a social media post on Wednesday evening, Bessent sought to clarify his remarks. "Trump Baby Accounts are an additive benefit for future generations, which will supplement the sanctity of Social Security's guaranteed payments," Bessent wrote on X. "This is not an either-or question: our Administration is committed to protecting Social Security and to making sure seniors have more money." MORE: Social Security fund may run dry sooner than previously expected, trustees say The White House on Thursday, when asked about Bessent's comments, said Trump was "committed to protecting" Social Security. "What the secretary of treasury was saying, and what this administration believes, is that these Trump newborn accounts, which is an incredibly creative and great provision that was in the one big, beautiful bill for newborn babies and families and future generations of Americans, will help supplement not substitute Social Security," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters. "The Trump administration is wholeheartedly committed to protecting Social Security. The president did it in his first term. He's doing it again in this term. But these newborn accounts are another revenue stream for young people, to watch their money grow throughout their lives and to one day be able to access those funds so they can hopefully build a home and live the American dream," she added. A spokesman for the Treasury Department also clarified Bessent's comments, saying that they are "additive" to Social Security, not a replacement for the benefit. "Trump Accounts are an additive government program that work in conjunction with Social Security to broaden and increase the savings and wealth of Americans. Social Security is a critical safety net for Americans and always will be. This Administration has not just fought tirelessly for seniors, but is also fighting for the next generation," the Treasury spokesperson said. The "Trump Savings Accounts" were part of his megabill agenda narrowly passed by congressional Republicans earlier this month. The policy will deposit $1,000 into a tax-deferred, low-cost index fund account that will track the overall stock market for each newborn. Additional contributions can go up to $5,000 annually. When the children reach adulthood, they can access funds to cover expenses such as college or a down payment on a home. If a child is born after December 31, children under the age of 18 will have one thousand dollars put in their accounts for investment purposes. The program is a new initiative to promote financial literacy among Americans. "And, you know, people can put in up to certain amounts every year for their child, and they can invest that stuff in the market, and they can learn how to do this," Bessent said in his interview with Breitbart. When asked if companies matching would be a good thing, Bessent responded positively, saying it would be a "great thing." "At the end of the day, I'm not sure when the distribution level date should be. Whether should it be 30 and you can buy a house? Should it be 60? But in a way, it is a back door for privatizing Social Security," Bessent said. "Social Security is a defined benefit plan paid out to the extent that if all of a sudden, these accounts grow and you have hundreds of thousands of dollars for your retirement, then that's a game changer, too." MORE: New head of Social Security, hired from Wall Street, tells staff he had to Google the job when he was offered it Several Democrats quickly criticized Bessent's comments. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, slammed the treasury secretary in floor remarks on Thursday. "Now, of course, Secretary Bessent had rushed to Twitter later to do a little cleanup, but the truth came out, the real truth," Schumer said. "Actions speak louder than words, and the actions Donald Trump and his gang are taking against Social Security speaks volumes." "Well, Republicans said the quiet part out loud: They want to 'privatize Social Security.' Your money. Your benefits. Sold to the highest bidder. So much for standing with seniors," Rep. Katherine Clark, the Democratic whip,wroteon X on Wednesday. "Today the Treasury Secretary said the quiet part out loud: Republicans' ultimate goal is to privatize Social Security, and there isn't a backdoor they won't try to make Wall Street's dream a reality," Rep. Richard Neal, the top Democrat the House Ways and Means Committee, said in a statement on Wednesday. "For everyone else though, it's yet another warning sign that they cannot be trusted to safeguard the program millions rely on and have paid into over a lifetime of work." AARP, an interest group that focusing on issues affecting those 50 and older in the U.S., alsopushed backon Bessent. "AARP condemns Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's endorsement of a "backdoor" to Social Security privatization. We have fought any and all efforts to privatize Social Security, and we will continue to," said AARP Senior Vice President of Campaigns John Hishta. "President Trump has emphasized many times that Social Security 'won't be touched,' and that he is 'not going to touch Social Security.' This must include any and all forms of 'privatization.'" ABC News' Alexandra Hutzler contributed to this report.

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July 31, 2025

Bessent tries to walk back comments suggesting Social Security could be privatized

Bessent tries to walk back comments suggesting Social Security could be privatized Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is trying to walk back h...

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'When Black women run, they do win:' New report shows gains in Black women lawmakers

'When Black women run, they do win:' New report shows gains in Black women lawmakers

WASHINGTON ‒ The number ofBlack women electedto Congress has held steady in recent years, but a record number of Black women have served this year in state legislatures, often the pipeline to higher offices, according to a new report. A new report titled "Black Women in American Politics 2025," provided to USA TODAY shortly before its July 31 release, tracked the number of Black women serving in statewide offices, state legislatures and Congress over the last decade. The report found that at one point in 2025, 402 Black women were serving in state legislatures, up from 240 nearly a decade ago. "It's steady progress,"Chelsea Hill, an author of the report, said of the 2024 elections. Since 2014, there's been a 67% increase in the number of Black women in state legislatures, according to the report by Higher Heights, which works to expand Black women's political power, and the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University in New Jersey. State legislatures have long served as a path to Congress. In the more than 10 years since the first report, there's been an acceleration of Black women "moving along the pipeline,'' said Glynda Carr, president of Higher Heights. Last year also marked some firsts for Black women with Kamala Harris' historic bid for president. Harris, who became the first woman of African American and Asian American descent to run for president and the first woman to serve as vice president, announced July 30 that she would not run for governor in California. She didnot say if she had ruled out a presidential bidin 2028. Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware and Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland, both Democrats, also made history when they were elected thefirst two Black women to serve in the U.S. Senateat the same time. There were no Black women in the Senate when the report was first published in 2014, Carr said. "It's a reminder of why we do the work and a reminder of the program and the impact of the work,'' she said. There have been more opportunities over the years for Black women to run at the state level, said Carr and Hill. They pointed tomore programs to recruit and train womencandidates. "When Black women run, they do win,'' said Hill, director of data at the Center for American Women. "They have high win rates. At the congressional level, Black women have higher win rates than their counterparts.'' In the 2024 general election, 63% of Black women congressional nominees won their contests, outpacing the win rates of all female candidates at 49% and male candidates at 53% across race/ethnicity, according to the report. Many women serving in Congress are former state lawmakers. The number of Black women in Congress has nearly doubled from 17 to 31, including nonvoting delegates, since 2014, the report found. Hill called Harris' run for the presidency a "galvanizing force'' for all women, including Black women. Carr said Harris' presidential bid "shows the strength of a leadership pipeline for Black women." "Here's a woman who had run and won on every level of government," Carr said, noting that Harris served in the Bay Area and the state of California for more than a decade. Carr said Harris' calculated decision not to run for governor will continue to inspire women and Black women to run for office. "More importantly (it has) created a blueprint around 'how do you serve on a local level and continue to serve and run for higher office,'" Carr said. Meanwhile, the report found that there have been other gains. Eight Black women serve as mayors of the 100 most populous cities, including Karen Bass in Los Angeles, Muriel Bowser in Washington and LaToya Cantrell in New Orleans. Despite the gains, women candidates often face hurdles, including fundraising, experts said. Some Black women candidates have complained that party organizations have been slow to support their bids. While there are fewer of those barriers, Carr said there has been an increase in misinformation about candidates and Black women have been targets of political threats. Most Black women elected to Congress have been Democrats. GOP candidates must also deal with the tension of Republicans pushing back against diversity, equity and inclusion, which often includes women. There's only been one Black Republican woman, the late Mia Love of Utah, elected to Congress. "I certainly hope that I won't be the last one. I really do," Lovetold USA TODAY in 2022. And while there were a record number of Black women in state legislatures, there are five states with no Black women in their state legislatures, Hill said. They include Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota. One place where there has not been a win for Black women is in governorships. In the last decade, several Black women have run for governor, such as Stacey Abrams in Georgia, but have not won. More are trying, including Republican Lt. Gov.Winsome Earle-Sears, who is running for governorin Virginia this year. Keisha Lance Bottoms, a Democrat, has announced plans to run for governor of Georgia in 2026. The landscape will be different from 2024 when there were 11 gubernatorial races, Hill said. In 2026, there will be 36 open seats. "Hopefully, we can all retire that factoid of 'there's never been a Black woman governor,'" Hill said. Meanwhile, Carr and Hill said there may be more opportunities for Black women to run next year. There were 73 statewide races in 2024. Next year, there will be 200. Hill said she's hoping to see Black women recruited, supported and running for some of those positions. There's also a push for more Black women to run in districts with diverse populations, not just majority-Black districts, Carr said. "In 2026, the work is to ensure that we are not losing ground and (that) there's an infrastructure in place for Black women to run for reelection, for Black women to run for higher office and for more Black women to run," she said. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Black women reach record numbers in state politics, report finds

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July 31, 2025

'When Black women run, they do win:' New report shows gains in Black women lawmakers

'When Black women run, they do win:' New report shows gains in Black women lawmakers WASHINGTON ‒ The number ofBlack women electedto...

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'TOO ANGRY, TOO STUPID': Trump bashes Fed Chair Powell after central bank leaves interest rates unchanged

'TOO ANGRY, TOO STUPID': Trump bashes Fed Chair Powell after central bank leaves interest rates unchanged

President Trump escalated his criticism of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell a day after the central bankkept rates on hold, saying in a social media post that Powell is "TOO ANGRY, TOO STUPID, & TOO POLITICAL" to have his job. "He is costing our Country TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS, in addition to one of the most incompetent, or corrupt, renovations of a building(s) in the history of construction! Put another way, 'Too Late' is a TOTAL LOSER, and our Country is paying the price!" The new attack on Thursday morning followed the fifth consecutive meeting where the Fed decided to leave rates unchanged, defying Trump's repeated calls for a cut. Two Fed governors dissented and argued for a quarter percentage point reduction, the first time two Fed governors have done so at a policy meeting since 1993. Read more:How the Fed rate decision affects your bank accounts, loans, credit cards, and investments Powell at a press conference Wednesday did not budge from his view that more time is needed to assess the impact of Trump's tariffs on inflation and the economy, saying that there is still a "a long way to go" to figure that out and "you have to think of this as still quite early days." He also declined to say whether a cut was on the table for the Fed's next meeting in September and made it clear that inflation was still a concern as the Fed balances its dual mandate of stable prices and maximum employment. "In the end, there should be no doubt that we will do what we need to do to keep inflation under control." Anew reading on inflationreleased Thursday showed price increases accelerated in June more than expected asinflationremained above the Fed's 2% target. The "core" Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index, which strips out food and energy costs and is closely watched by the central bank, rose 2.8% on an annual basis, above the 2.7% economists had expected and higher than the 2.7% seen in May. The new PCE reading "will do little to ease the Fed's concerns about tariff-driven inflation," Capital Economics assistant economist Harry Chambers said in a Thursday note. "If these pressures persist, as we expect, a September cut looks unlikely." Traders have narrowed the odds of a cut in September, lowering them to roughly 40%. Trump on Wednesday saidhe does expect a cut at the next meeting, telling reporters before the Wednesday rate hold was announced that "I hear they're going to do it in September." Read more:How much control does the president have over the Fed and interest rates? The decision to keep rates on hold was expected to increase tensions with Trump, who has also in recent weeks been invoking a $2.5 billion renovation of the Fed's headquarters as a way to question the chair's management of the institution. Trump played down his displeasure with the Fed chair during a visit to the construction project last week, saying of firing Powell: "To do that is a big move, and I just don't think it's necessary." Asked last Thursday what might lead him to back off the barrage of critiques that Trump has been leveling against Powell for weeks, the president said, "I'd love him to lower interest rates," before patting Powell on the back. But today, Trump turned back to a harsher view of the Fed chair in a new social media post. "Jerome "Too Late" Powell has done it again!!! He is TOO LATE, and actually, TOO ANGRY, TOO STUPID, & TOO POLITICAL, to have the job of Fed Chair." At his press conference Wednesday afternoon, Powell declined to comment in detail on the president's critiques. He said the president's recent visit was an honor and defended central bank independence. He said any rate cuts this fall will depend on "the totality of the evidence" as part of his message that inflation remains above target and that his goal is to ensure that short-term price hikes from tariffs don't become long-term problems. "We're going to be looking at a lot of data" between now and the next meeting, Powell said. "We'll see where that takes us." Click here for in-depth analysis of the latest stock market news and events moving stock prices Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance

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July 31, 2025

'TOO ANGRY, TOO STUPID': Trump bashes Fed Chair Powell after central bank leaves interest rates unchanged

'TOO ANGRY, TOO STUPID': Trump bashes Fed Chair Powell after central bank leaves interest rates unchanged President Trump escalated ...

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Trump administration cancels plans to develop new offshore wind projects

Trump administration cancels plans to develop new offshore wind projects

The Trump administration is canceling plans to use large areas of federal waters for new offshore wind development, the latest step to suppress the industry in the United States. More than 3.5 million acres had been designated wind energy areas, the offshore locations deemed most suitable for wind energy development. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is now rescinding all designated wind energy areas in federal waters, announcing on Wednesday an end to setting aside large areas for "speculative wind development." Offshore wind lease sales were anticipated off the coasts of Texas, Louisiana, Maine, New York, California and Oregon, as well as in the central Atlantic. The Biden administration last year hadannounced a five-year scheduleto lease federal offshore tracts for wind energy production. Trump began reversing the country's energy policies after taking office in January. A series ofexecutive orderstook aim at increasing oil, gasand coal production. The Republican president has been hostile to renewable energy, particularly offshore wind. One earlyexecutive ordertemporarily halted offshore wind lease sales in federal waters and paused the issuance of approvals, permits and loans for all wind projects. In trying to make a case against wind energy, he has relied onfalse and misleading claimsabout the use of wind power in the U.S. and around the world. The bureau said it was acting in accordance with Trump's action and anorder by his interior secretarythis week to end any preferential treatment toward wind and solar facilities, which were described as unreliable, foreign-controlled energy sources. Robin Shaffer, president of Protect Our Coast New Jersey, applauded the administration for its actions and said they were long overdue. Opponents of offshore wind projects are particularly vocal and well-organized in New Jersey. "It's hard to believe these projects ever got this far because of the immensity, scale, scope and expense, compared to relatively cheap and reliable forms of onshore power," he said Thursday. "We're nearly there, but we haven't reached the finish line yet." The Sierra Club said the administration's "relentless obstruction of wind energy" shows it does not care about creating affordable, reliable energy for everyday Americans. "No matter how much they want to bolster their buddies in the dirty fossil fuel industry, we will continue to push for the cleaner, healthier, and greener future we deserve," Xavier Boatright, Sierra Club's deputy legislative director for clean energy and electrification, said in a statement. Attorneys general from 17 states and the District of Columbia are suingin federal courtto challenge Trump's executive order halting leasing and permitting for wind energy projects. His administration had also halted work on a major offshore wind project for New York, butallowed it to resume in May. The nation's first commercial-scale offshore wind farm, a12-turbine wind farm called South Fork, opened last year east of Montauk Point, New York. ___ The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP'sstandardsfor working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas atAP.org.

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July 31, 2025

Trump administration cancels plans to develop new offshore wind projects

Trump administration cancels plans to develop new offshore wind projects The Trump administration is canceling plans to use large areas of f...

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‘No leniency is being given or discussed’: Trump admin official denies Maxwell clemency is currently on the table

'No leniency is being given or discussed': Trump admin official denies Maxwell clemency is currently on the table

A senior Trump administration official stated Thursday that President Donald Trump is not currently considering clemency for Jeffrey Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell after the president has repeatedly left the door open on the matter in recent weeks. "No leniency is being given or discussed. That's just false. The President himself has said that clemency for Maxwell is not something he is even thinking about at this time," the official told CNN. The remark comes as the family of Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre is speaking out against any possibility of Trump giving clemency to Maxwell. The family was spurred to comment after the presidenttold reportersearlier this week that Epstein "stole" Mar-a-Lago employees, leading to the two men's falling out in the early 2000s. He acknowledged, when asked by a reporter, that one of those employees may have been Giuffre, who died by suicide earlier this year. "I think she worked at the spa," Trump said. "I think that was one of the people, yeah. He stole her." Asked about the president's comments, Giuffre's family expressed shock and raised questions about Trump's relationship with Epstein in a statement to CNN. The comments were first reported byThe Atlantic. "It makes us ask if he was aware of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell's criminal actions, especially given his statement two years later that his good friend Jeffrey 'likes women on the younger side … no doubt about it,'" said the statement from Giuffre's two brothers and her sisters-in-law. They called Maxwell a "monster" and a "predator." "If our sister could speak today, she would be most angered by the fact that the government is listening to a known perjurer. A woman who repeatedly lied under oath and will continue to do so as long as it benefits her position," they continued, adding: "The government and the President should never consider giving Ghislaine Maxwell any leniency." White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told CNN in a statement that Trump was "directly responding to a question posed by a reporter about Ms. Guiffre — he did not bring her up." "The fact remains that President Trump kicked Jeffrey Epstein out of his club for being a creep to his female employees," Leavitt added. The president has been noncommittal when asked about the possibility of a pardon or commutation for Maxwell amid mounting calls for transparency around Epstein. Trump has not been accused of any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein. "Well, I'm allowed to give her a pardon, but nobody's approached me with it. Nobody's asked me about it," Trump told reporters earlier this week. He added that it was "inappropriate to talk about it." Maxwellhas offeredto testify before Congress, but with major conditions, including immunity, according to a list of her demands sent to the House Oversight Committee by her attorneys. A spokesperson for the panel has said they would not consider immunity. This article has been updated with additional reporting. CNN's Kerry Rubin, Rashard Rose, Aaron Blake and Kaitlan Collins contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account atCNN.com

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July 31, 2025

‘No leniency is being given or discussed’: Trump admin official denies Maxwell clemency is currently on the table

'No leniency is being given or discussed': Trump admin official denies Maxwell clemency is currently on the table A senior Trump adm...

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