U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday described the tax bill President Donald Trump signed into law this month as a way of eventually privatizing Social Security.
The law created a new category of tax-advantaged retirement savings accounts for babies, called “Trump Accounts,” that will be initially seeded with $1,000 from the government.
Speaking at an event hosted by Breitbart News, Bessent suggested the accounts could so enamor Americans with the magic of private investing that they will eventually clamor for the privatization of the federal government’s popular old-age insurance program.
“In a way, it is a backdoor for privatizing Social Security,” Bessent said in a widely circulated minute-long clip from the Breitbart event.
Democrats have long accused Republicans of wanting to privatize Social Security, especially after former president George W. Bush proposed doing so in his second term. The idea was so unpopular it helped Democrats retake both the House and Senate in the 2006 midterm elections.
