Treasury Secretary Scott Bescent speaks to CNBC on March 13, 2025.
CNBC
Treasury Secretary Scott Bescent said Sunday that the Trump administration is focusing on preventing a financial crisis that could be the result of massive government spending over the past few years.
“What I can guarantee is we had a financial crisis. I researched it, taught it, if I had been keeping up with these spending levels, if everything was unsustainable,” Bescent said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “We’ve been reset and we’re putting things on a sustainable path.”
President Donald Trump has put government finances prioritized after taking office. He established the so-called government efficiency office, led by Elon Musk, to spearhead job cuts and early retirement incentives in multiple federal agencies.
Still, the issue of US debt and deficits worsened during Trump’s first inauguration month as the budget shortfall in February exceeded $1 trillion.
Bescent pointed out that there is “no guarantee” there will be no recession.
The market is in a tumultuous ride as Trump’s widespread tariffs have sparked concerns about inflation and the slowdown in the economy. The S&P 500 on Thursday was revised at 10% from the February height as volatility spiked.
Bessent believes that pullbacks, as the market currently exists, are benign, and Trump’s professional business policy will boost the market and the economy in the long term.
“I’ve been in the investment business for 35 years and you can see that the corrections are healthy. They’re normal,” he said. “It’s straight to not being healthy. Getting these euphoric markets. That’s how we went into the financial crisis. If someone had put the brakes on in ’06, ’07, it would have been much healthier.
“I’m not worried about the market. The market does great things when we put in good tax policies, deregulation and energy security over the long term,” added Bessent. “I say the market won’t be creating for a week.”
