Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent sharply criticized [1] Senate Democrats on Wednesday night, taking direct aim at Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota.
In a statement posted to X, Bessent called both lawmakers “failures” and accused them of focusing on political posturing instead of working to reopen the government.
“@SenWarren and @SenAmyKlobuchar: you are failures,” Bessent wrote.
“You failed to derail the electoral success of one of our great allies in Latin America, President @JMilei. He won in a landslide with the poorest members of society voting for economic freedom—a notion anathema in particular to the Senate’s resident American Peronist, Senator Warren.”
The secretary’s post referenced Argentina’s recent election of President Javier Milei, a libertarian economist who campaigned on free-market reforms.
Bessent linked that development to the Trump administration’s economic policies and the president’s recent trip to Asia.
“You failed to reopen the government, preventing our Administration’s efforts to get aid to American farmers, as well as our planned activation of the Farm Credit Agency to assist our farmers with next year’s crops,” he continued.
Bessent said the administration’s agricultural initiatives would have advanced sooner if Congress had passed the necessary funding.
“Today’s announcement after his meeting with President Xi will be a resounding victory for our great farmers,” he wrote.
“While I know it will be soul-crushing for you, please re-focus your staff away from writing incoherent letters to myself and others, and instead work towards opening the government. If you decide to further add to your legacy of failure by voting to keep the government closed over the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, ruining the number one travel day for American families, you should both be ashamed.”
The exchange followed a letter sent Monday by a group of Democratic lawmakers accusing Bessent of prioritizing foreign governments over domestic agriculture.
The letter cited reports that the administration was considering international financial aid programs as negotiations with China over soybean imports continued.
Speaking to FOX Business host Maria Bartiromo on Thursday, Bessent said China had agreed to purchase 12 million metric tons of soybeans “during this season,” which he indicated would be before January.
He added that the administration expects Beijing to buy at least 25 million metric tons annually over the next three years.
Bessent also estimated that President Donald Trump’s Asia trip could yield as much as $2 trillion in new investments into the United States.
Bessent shared a photo of President Trump addressing world leaders at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea, writing that it demonstrated “what successful American leadership looks like.”
In the same post, he included a pointed message to his critics: “P.S. I am happy to inform you both that the Argentine economic bridge has now turned a profit for the American people. While ‘profit’ is a private sector word that you may both be unfamiliar with, I would urge you to look past your previous experience working alongside the Biden Administration’s autopenned efforts to bankrupt the US government.”
.@SenWarren [2] and @SenAmyKlobuchar [3]: you are failures.
You failed to derail the electoral success of one of our great allies in Latin America, President @JMilei [4]. He won in a landslide with the poorest members of society voting for economic freedom—a notion anathema in particular… pic.twitter.com/Q6bOQFDKBI [5]
— Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (@SecScottBessent) October 29, 2025 [6]
Sen. Klobuchar responded on X late Wednesday, suggesting Bessent’s remarks were unbecoming of a cabinet official.
“At first I thought, wow, this must be a fake account given your really important job and all. But no, it’s really you. DOUBLE WOW!” she wrote.
“Since you and I have had no public or private personal ‘BEEFS’ (Argentinian or otherwise), maybe it is just your jet lag from all the overseas travel.”
Klobuchar defended the letter she co-signed as “super serious and fact-based,” saying it asked Bessent to reconsider the administration’s tariff policies and their effect on rural economies.
“While your announcement today reversing just part of your own administration’s bad policies is always helpful, there is just so much left to undo before these across-the-board tariffs upend the economy in rural America forever,” she wrote, adding a postscript that referenced ongoing budget negotiations in the House.
“P.S. thanks for sending that glam pic of the President in Asia. Here’s one of the House of Representatives this week. Love it if they came back to meet with us and your boss to do something about health insurance premiums and end the shut down.”
Well top of the morning to you Mr. Treasury Secretary! I hope you’ve had some sleep since sending the attached. At first I thought to myself wow, this must be a fake account given your really important job and all. But no, it’s really you. DOUBLE WOW! Since you and I have had no… https://t.co/HCb4XquTzb [7] pic.twitter.com/SOKPkyvnKT [8]
— Senator Amy Klobuchar (@SenAmyKlobuchar) October 30, 2025 [9]
Earlier in October, Bessent had announced U.S. participation in a currency swap program with Argentina’s central bank aimed at stabilizing the peso.
The move was described as part of a broader effort to strengthen trade and financial cooperation between Washington and Buenos Aires.
At the time, Bessent said the Treasury Department was “prepared, immediately, to take whatever exceptional measures are warranted to provide stability to markets” and noted that up to $20 billion in new financing could be deployed through a combination of public and private funds.
The sharp exchange between Bessent and Senate Democrats marks the latest round in a series of public disputes over the administration’s trade and fiscal priorities as the partial government shutdown continues into its fifth week.