Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent appears on NBC to discuss the national security issues surrounding Greenland and the Trump administration’s face off against Europe and NATO. Additionally, Welker wants to protect Fed Chairman Jerome Powell against mounting evidence of his political bias and mismanagement of the Federal Reserve. Video and Transcript Below.
Joining me now is Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Secretary Bessent, welcome back to Meet the Press.
SEC. SCOTT BESSENT:
Good morning, Kristen. Good to be with you.
KRISTEN WELKER:
It’s great to have you here, thank you for being here in person. Let’s start right there. President Trump threatening to impose steep tariffs against some of America’s closest European and NATO allies. The leaders of Denmark and Greenland say bluntly, “Greenland is not for sale.” What makes President Trump think it is?
President Trump has announced a new tariff regime against Germany, the UK, France, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, The Netherlands and Finland. The two-stage tariffs are in response to European leadership undermining U.S. strategic security discussions with Greenland.
PRESIDENT TRUMP – “We have subsidized Denmark, and all of the Countries of the European Union, and others, for many years by not charging them Tariffs, or any other forms of remuneration. Now, after Centuries, it is time for Denmark to give back — World Peace is at stake! China and Russia want Greenland, and there is not a thing that Denmark can do about it. They currently have two dogsleds as protection, one added recently.
Only the United States of America, under PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP, can play in this game, and very successfully, at that! Nobody will touch this sacred piece of Land, especially since the National Security of the United States, and the World at large, is at stake.
On top of everything else, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, The United Kingdom, The Netherlands, and Finland have journeyed to Greenland, for purposes unknown. This is a very dangerous situation for the Safety, Security, and Survival of our Planet. These Countries, who are playing this very dangerous game, have put a level of risk in play that is not tenable or sustainable.”
Regardless of how you feel about the Federal Reserve Board, I think we would all agree the construct of an autonomous central bank is outside the boundaries of our constitutional framework. Factually, the Sea Island financial group set up the Federal Reserve as a system of control over the U.S. economy that was completely unnecessary.
That same ultra-constitutional mindset of omnipotent power permeates the recent statements by FED Chair Jerome Powell, who now attempts to evade a Dept of Justice investigation by hiding behind the ruse of his non-elected office.
Last year, facing ridiculous cost overruns, Congress questioned Powell over the insane spending proposal by Powell for a new office building. Chairman Powell characterized the construction changes, that escalated the cost of the project from $1.9 billion to $2.5 billion, as ‘minor modifications.’ That’s $2.5 billions of taxpayer money.
In an effort to both use his office as a defense, and simultaneously weaponize the power of his position, Jerome Powell waits until Sunday evening to announce he is being investigated by the DOJ [SEE HERE], and then he claims it is political targeting.
On Friday, the Department of Justice served the Federal Reserve with grand jury subpoenas, threatening a criminal indictment related to my testimony before the Senate Banking Committee last June. That testimony concerned in part a multi-year project to renovate historic Federal Reserve office buildings.
It appears that Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is about to discover what happens when you anger the Treasury Secretary, who happens to be the IRS Commissioner. WATCH (Prompted):
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is leading the charge to focus on Minneapolis, Minnesota Somali fraud rings for targeted regional actions. The IRS Criminal Investigations division has been dispatched to focus on the Minneapolis region to identify fraudulent use of public assistance services, combined with the abuse of federal taxpayer funds.
These fraud cases, ongoing since the early 2020s and intensifying in 2024–2026, involve allegations of misappropriating hundreds of millions (potentially up to several billions) in taxpayer funds intended for child nutrition, autism therapy, housing stabilization, personal care assistance, and other Medicaid programs.
In a remarkable approach, Secretary Bessent announced during a Fox News interview that a regional targeting effort is now underway that will block anyone who receives public assistance from sending money overseas (remittances to foreign countries). This is not a fee or tax on the remittance, or financial transaction; this is a complete block of their ability to send money overseas. Anyone receiving public assistance will not be able to send money to foreign lands.
Yes, it seems like this is initially going to be subject to the honest admission of the money sender. However, with the IRS reviewing each transfer and cross referencing to public assistance records anyone who attempts to work around this regulation will be subject to federal laws on financial fraud, wire service fraud and potentially money laundering. WATCH:
The interagency focus will eventually go nationwide, as with the new USAO position that focuses on public assistance fraud; but for now, that focused effort will target Minnesota. Minneapolis will be the beta test for a national rollout.
All of the money service businesses in the region will now be reviewed and all financial transactions of $3,000 will be required to have an accompanying Suspicious Activity Report (SAR). With DHS, FBI and now IRS investigators focused exclusively on the two counties involved in the Somali fraud rings, the fraudsters will be identified and prosecuted.
Prior to the discovery of rampant fraud in Minnesota, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was already scheduled to deliver remarks to the Economic Club of Minnesota. Treasury Secretary Bessent is also the Acting IRS Commissioner, which gives him a very unique position from which to review and discuss the explosive issues of fraud within the state.
This is a MUST WATCH video in totality to understand exactly what Secretary Bessent is focused on.
Secretary Bessent begins visit by delivering prepared remarks to the audience outlining the success in President Trump’s economic policy approach, giving specific examples of granular policy accomplishments and what they mean to the average American. Secretary Bessent then sits down for a question-and-answer session where he drills into the issue of the fraud within the Minneapolis, Minnesota region.
Regarding the Somali fraud issue, Bessent notes the IRS Criminal Investigations department are leading the charge to identify the specific individuals and larger network groups within the region who will be held to account. In the bigger picture roughly 10% of all government spending has been identified by the General Accounting Office as fraud. This is a really good overall review of the current approach being taken by the Trump administration. WATCH:
Giddy up. Yesterday, President Trump and Marco Rubio announced the U.S. withdrawal from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). {GO DEEP} Today, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent makes the official notification to the UN.
The notification is important because the 1992 UNFCCC was ratified by the U.S. Senate 34 years ago, making it one of the first UniParty climate change pacts supported by the ¹DC business model.
According to the terms of the treaty, withdrawal from the UNFCCC requires an official notification to the United Nations, and the dissolution takes effect one year later.
TREASURY PRESS RELEASE – WASHINGTON – In alignment with the Trump Administration’s decision to withdraw from the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the U.S. Department of the Treasury has notified the Green Climate Fund (GCF) that the United States is withdrawing from the Fund and stepping down from its seat on the GCF Board, effective immediately.
“Our nation will no longer fund radical organizations like the GCF whose goals run contrary to the fact that affordable, reliable energy is fundamental to economic growth and poverty reduction,” said U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent.
The Trump Administration is committed to advancing all affordable and reliable sources of energy, which are fundamental to economic growth and poverty reduction. The GCF was established to supplement the objectives of the UNFCCC, and continued participation in the GCF has been determined to no longer be consistent with the Trump Administration’s priorities and goals. (SOURCE)
For those who have a tough time accepting wins, no, the next President cannot just rejoin the agreement; nor can the Senate block Trump’s withdrawal from it. The entire process would have to be restarted, and it’s a heavy lift to sell the American public on paying higher prices just to make pontificating global elites feel better about themselves.
As you review this latest data on trade, remember any drop in trade deficits has two big picture functions:
First, lower trade deficits generally mean the accompanying GDP release will be stronger than anticipated because imported products are a deduction from the valuation of all goods and services created in the U.S. economy. Lower imports mean less is deducted.
Secondly, and perhaps most importantly, a drop in the trade deficit created by diminished imports means more wealth remains inside the USA.
We are not spending, sending money overseas, to import foreign goods at the same rate, and that money stays inside the U.S. economy. More wealth inside the U.S. provides the fuel for expanded domestic growth, more investment gains in USA manufacturing and USA industry and the ability to pay higher USA wages.
The Commerce Department is reporting today that the U.S. trade deficit for October 2025 dropped to the smallest amount in 16-years. A significant amount of the deficit drop was because a high value of physical precious metals (gold/silver) was exported, simultaneous with big offshore pharmaceutical companies dropping the prices of imported products (policy and tariff pressure).
WSJ – The U.S. trade deficit shrank dramatically in October to its lowest level since 2009, the Commerce Department said Thursday, an unexpected twist in a year of volatile trade flows that have been buffeted by the Trump administration’s steep tariffs.
American imports fell to $331.4 billion in October, while exports increased to $302 billion. That yielded an October deficit of $29.4 billion, an imbalance nearly 40% smaller than September’s. (more)
The United States Office of the Comptroller for the Currency (OCC) has delivered the preliminary results of an investigation into large U.S. banks and the practice of “debanking” customers based on ideology. [PDF HERE]
Between 2020 and 2023, the OCC found that JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc., Wells Fargo & Co., U.S. Bancorp, Capital One Financial Corp., PNC Financial Services Group Inc., Toronto-Dominion Bank, and Bank of Montreal, all maintained policies that restricted legal companies from access to banking based on the “values” of the bank.
According to the OCC report, “these nine banks made inappropriate distinctions among customers in the provision of financial services on the basis of their lawful business activities by maintaining policies restricting access to banking services or requiring escalated reviews and approvals before providing certain customers access to financial services.”
Press Release– […] The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) today released preliminary findings from its supervisory review of debanking activities at the nine largest national banks it supervises: JPMorgan Chase Bank, Bank of America, Citibank, Wells Fargo Bank, U.S. Bank, Capital One, PNC Bank, TD Bank, and BMO Bank.
President Trump holds a roundtable discussion with Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and various farm state senators as he outlines $12 billion in support and subsidy for American farmers.
With energy prices lowered, the costs for natural gas, fertilizer, diesel and gasoline prices have fallen; however, food costs have remained high. President Trump announced with Brooke Rollins an initiative to help support American farmers with the intended objective to lower production costs from the field that will hopefully transfer to the fork.
Secretary Rollins and President Trump announce a $12 billion bridge subsidy to assist farmers with proactive planning for the 2026 planting season. The money is coming from revenue generated by tariffs, and row crop farming will be the first subsidies delivered. WATCH (media questions begin at 31:40):
