Bessent Clarifies How He Wanted to Beat Up Bill Pulte

By

Nia Prater,

Intelligencer staff writer, who covers New York politics

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent at a Senate Finance Committee hearing on June 3.

When he was scheduled to testify before the Senate Finance Committee Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was likely not expecting to field questions about a fight he almost got into with another Trump official last year. But the hearing came the day after President Trump named that same official, Federal Housing Finance Agency director Bill Pulte, his new acting director of national intelligence, so in between queries about the Trump administration’s budget request, members of the panel peppered the Cabinet secretary with questions centered on Pulte. And Bessent clarified that he had not threatened to punch him in the face but instead “kick his ass.”