Democrats blast Bessent over Trump baby accounts ‘backdoor for privatizing Social Security’ remarks
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is facing heavy backlash from Democrats over a Wednesday remark in which he talked about “a backdoor for privatizing Social Security.”
“In a way, it is a backdoor for privatizing Social Security,” Bessent said Wednesday during an event with Breitbart News, discussing “Trump accounts.”
The Trump administration has proposed savings accounts for kids born between 2024 and 2028 in which the government will put $1,000. It was a part of President Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” that he signed into law earlier this month.
Social Security has long been a third rail in politics, and Democrats were quick to accuse Bessent of suggesting he and the administration saw the accounts as a future replacement for Social Security.
Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) said Wednesday in a post on social platform X that Bessent was “saying the quiet part out loud.”
“‘In a way, it is a backdoor for privatizing Social Security.’ – Scott Bessent,” Luján said in his post, which featured a clip of Bessent’s comments. “That means gutting the promise our seniors earned and dismantling Social Security as we know it.”
In his own post Wednesday on X, Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) offered an opinion similar to Luján’s.
“Trump Treasury Sec. Scott Bessent said the quiet part out loud: Trump-Republicans want to privatize Social Security, turning it from a dependable safety net to a risky profit center for moneyed special interests at the expense of everyday Americans,” Reed said in his post.
Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.) said on X that “Republicans’ ultimate goal is to privatize Social Security.”
“And we know that there isn’t a backdoor they won’t try to make Wall Street’s dream a reality,” he added.
Later on Wednesday, Bessent sought to clean up his remarks by arguing the new accounts would bolster Social Security.
He said in a post on X that “Trump Baby Accounts are an additive benefit for future generations, which will supplement the sanctity of Social Security’s guaranteed payments.”
“This is not an either-or question: our Administration is committed to protecting Social Security and to making sure seniors have more money,” he added.
In an appearance on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” Thursday, Bessent said, “I was giving an interview, and I was talking about the $1,000 baby bonds that every American citizen, every newborn, is going to get.”
“The Democrats hate this program because the — it brings capitalism and markets to every American, not just their constituents at the upper end, and over time, the compounding is going to be an incredible supplement to Social Security, not a replacement. It is a complement,” he added.